The riddle of life
by NovemberRiddle
Summary: In need of rewriting and I am too attached to remove it. Go read my other story until I am done with rewriting this one. (it was my first so it really is kinda bad, read if you plan to leave me pointers for improvement)
1. Prologue

**The riddle of my life**

100 years had passed since Tom Marvolo Riddle was born, magic world was still recovering from the disaster Voldemort created. How many of those who thought they knew Voldemort secrets are still alive? A few.

But the boy who created a monster is back, and he has even more secrets now than he had back then, that day when he created his replacement. (Important: Tom is not a horcrux)

Anything you recognize from my story belongs to J.K.R. and everything you don't, well it belongs to my imagination (which is most likely under influence of everything and nothing, twisting anything it can all around and upside down).

I am sorry for any and all mistakes I may made or will make. 0=)

P.S. In this story don't assume anything. it maybe who you think it is it may not. It may be what you think it is or it may not. (And don't judge by the first chapter since it isn't what you most likely think it is since it is mostly a way to introduce you to the thoughts of certain charecter)

* * *

**_Prologue_**

A young man was standing in a well lit room looking through a window that had occupied the whole wall of the room he was in.

His cold dark eyes held the reflection of the shining city he was looking at. The green of his eyes blended with colorful lights of the city. Deep in thought, he stepped closer to the glass and touched it with the tips of his fingers. A modern white room with black decoration behind him was quiet like it was every other night.

His mind was occupied with memories. He was pondering over the life he lead. He wondered for at least the millionth time if he could have done things differently, if he could change the results somehow. He was trying to fight back those thoughts, because in the end he had everything he had aimed for from the very beginning …

_"We are all chasing something. Money. Love. Success. What we really want is more life. But the truth is we don't know the difference between living and existing. We run after our dreams and in many cases instead of ending up with more we wind up with less, because too often we don't realize what we have until it's gone._

_I remember that all those years ago the only thing I desired was more time. I was trying to trick whichever force was controlling it, and, depending on how you perceive it, you might say I succeeded. At that time all I thought was 'You can't live forever. You have to stop this. No one else will.' That thought made me desire another thing… Power._

_I was intelligent, manipulative and charismatic. I was a genius like no other. __Although I have almost everything, I could have had even more._

_But you'll probably learn, like I did, that the life of every man is a diary in which he means to write one story, and writes another. You'll learn that life doesn't always go the way you plan and, even though, I easily corrected my miscalculations those rare times I had made them, I still had some… or better to say, one, big downfall._

_Our lives are defined by opportunities, even the one we miss. For everything you miss, you gain something, but for everything you gain you lose something else. That's the truth I always knew. I always knew that you can't have your dreams without laying something on the line. Sacrifices are needed no matter what path you choose to walk down on. The key is not to risk what you can't afford to lose. If you risk the wrong thing the consequences would be great. I know. I've been through that._

_Back then I thought that only others would be affected by my choices and that I would stay intact. I thought that I knew what was best for me. I was wrong. I was affected by the wrong choice… and still painfully am._

_Life has a habit of throwing things you long ago stopped desiring right under your feet. You take them, get used to them, and then, one day… they slip from your hand never to be found again._

_I guess you never know what is coming for you until it hits you in the face._

_I was used to being alone before everything started. I didn't mind that silence that followed me everywhere. Until I made a wrong move. Now, from time to time, I feel a hunting loneliness and then I find myself among strangers because I drift here and there trying to forget my past, trying to forget everything that had happened to me. That's the only way I can move forward, by pretending some things never happened._

_Out of sight out of mind._

_How I wish that was true. I wish I could build a bridge and get over it, leave the loss on the other side. But I can't. Every time I try, the river of memories demolishes my structure. And I stay on the same side with all the pain and suffering that I seem to be incapable of running from._

_I know that in the end I can only blame myself for the way my life had been written. I am the only one responsible for the tragedy I act in. I could have taken a different turn at some point of my long existence and I would have never lost her, but… even if I'd had a second chance, I would have probably done the same thing, make the same decisions and I would again be in this same position, hurt and lonely._

_Yes, I would have made the same mistakes._

_Why?_

_Because in the end, at this moment, I have achieved everything I aimed for._

_It is true that down the road I lost something I greatly miss now, something, I never thought I would even have._

_Maybe that's why I don't regret anything… Because of those moments I never even believed possible. After all, those moments always felt like chapters form another book. Pages stolen from somebody else's life… And maybe they were. I wouldn't know. Those moments always felt like a magnificent dream to me. A dream that, back then, as I realize now, I didn't know how to appreciate."_

He leaned on the cold glass of the window, his forehead touching the cold surface. He watched as the lights of the city below him blinked off. His breath was blurring the window.

_"I wish I could go to sleep like they can, but I would only dream of her... This would be just another restless night._

_One of the hardest things you'll ever have to do in life is stop loving somebody because they've stopped loving you._

_Every time I thought I am over her, every time I thought she would stay in the past where she belongs, she would appear again. It is like being hunted. Hunted by loneliness, hunted by regret._

_She once said to me that the higher I built the walls around me, around my heart, the harder I would fall when someone teared them down. She was right. And the worst thing was not that she was right, no, but that she was also the one who tore those walls apart. She was the one who proved me wrong. She was the one that hurt me. She is the one I miss every night..._

_I still remember every kiss that we shared, every minute I spent with her... and I can still remember out last night together and her clear soft voice. Her words are still ringing in my ears, even after three years, it still reminds me that I don't deserve her, that I never did. I can still clearly recall her every word..._

_'I'm leaving tomorrow. I'm afraid of what I'll be if I stay with you. You are affecting me in ways you can't even imagine. I don't want to change. You would leave me and forget me if I did, which is why I am leaving. I want to stay myself. I want to return to the person I once was… And thankfully it's never too late to be whoever you want to be. There's no time limit, you may stop whenever you want. You can change or stay the same, there are no rules to this thing. We can make the best or the worst of it. For what it's worth I hope you make the best of it. And I hope you see things that startle you. I hope you feel things you never felt before. I hope you meet people with a different point of view. I hope you live a life you're proud of. If you find that you're not, I hope you have the strength to start all over again.'_

_She never knew that after she disappeared from my life I wouldn't have strength for anything. She was the one inspiring me to try to change. And the last thing she said..._

_'Think how you love me... I don't ask you to love me always like this... I can't ask you to always love me like this, it would be selfish, but I ask you to remember.'_

_If she only knew how much I miss her, how much I think of her. I wonder if I ever even crossed her mind. She asked me just to remember... Did she really think I would forget her? Her thinking that I would stop loving her I can understand, even though it didn't happen as much as I wish for it... But to think I'd forget her... Did she really think she meant that little to me?_

_I remember Edwen trying to cheer me up. He was sure I would find another just as lovely as she was. He might as well have said that if the girl had been worth having she'd have waited for me. But we both always knew that the girl really worth having won't wait for anybody, just as we both knew that non of the girls I would later have would mean as much to me as she did._

_I can't say I can't live without her. That is not true. I can't say I'm dying when she's not with me, that's the way immature and insecure people think, I'm neither. I'm perfectly capable of living without her in my life as I've already proved to everybody over the last three years. But I do miss her, I do wish she was here right now, and, even though I would never have admitted it out loud to anybody, deep down I still hope she would return someday and I'm still waiting for her._

_Maybe I'm still holding on to that hope because of some old sage I once met. He told me that everything has to be alright in the end, if it's not alright it's not the end. And for me it sure isn't alright right now. Maybe it will be alright when I forget her, although the thought of forgetting her scares me. Or maybe that's the reason I hold to the memory of her so tightly, because I am afraid something so great won't happen twice. In the end it doesn't really matter what the reason I can't forget her is as long as I don't._

_Don't get me wrong, I tried to move on, to be with somebody else, but the problem is that she was the one who made me understand how important it is to follow the whisper of your heart and not only your brain. As pathetically cliché as that sounds, no-one else can take her place. And unlucky, being next to her made the choices of my heart as important and undeniable as the choices of my mind. Every time I hear something about her I tell myself 'Who cares?' and my heart answers quietly but conclusively 'You do stupid.' and thanks to her influence and the scars she left on me, I can't deny it. Yes, I really do care. Even as I force myself not to, every moment of every day, that doesn't change. I care._

_I still wish I could move on. I even tried being my old emotionless self, but I failed. No-one can see it, no-one can see how much I miss her every day. To the eyes of others I am still the same calculating, cold, self-absorbed me. And I still mostly am that manipulative person I used to be... but as I said _mostly_._

_I feel pathetic every time I dream of her, but I can't help it. And I sometimes hate myself for missing her. But I also hate her for doing this to me. For destroying me. Loving her made me weak. Not on the surface, no, I can't show any weakness to my enemies. But from the inside that's how I feel, weak. I fell for all the things I long ago swore I would never wish for, things I swore to never feel. Things that destroyed my parents, and my guardian. She made me question my view of the world and for that I blame her. (Though, if things ended up differently and I was with her now, I would probably be grateful)."_

Sighing, he raised his head from the glass and turned his back to the lights of London. He was drowning himself in the memories again. His dark eyes searched the room for anything that could get his mind away from the painful past. Taking his jacket and slipping his shoes on, he quickly exited the house and went for a stroll hoping that the cold fresh air would help him relax.

_"The stars are so bright tonight. And the moon... it's full and red. Like the night I locked away their powers, like the night I put away that book forever... and like the night she left..."_

Memories again flooded his mind before he could stop them and he stayed there the red moon reflected in his eyes as he remembered...


	2. Diary and freedom

**2. Diary and freedom**

It's been a long time since anybody had opened his diary, not that it made any difference. The little sober green book would be placed back on the dusty shelf as soon as the reader realized all the pages were blank.

This wasn't the first time his diary was opened, and it wouldn't be the last. He was trapped in his own memories, in his own past for eternity. He did this to himself in the attempt to run from the time itself.

That train of thought was put to an end the second ink started to appear on ceiling. His shocked eyes looked at shining carbon sentence**:**

**My name is Edwen Grey. And because owning a diary is such a girlish thing I'll refer to you as…  
**  
Finally this was a chance he's been waiting for, a chance to free himself. Tom eagerly wrote back:

**_Hi Edwen, my name is Tom Riddle._**

Time passed slowly as Tom waited for an answer. _"I scared him away."_ he thought panicking.

But it seemed like he was worrying for nothing. The boy soon wrote back. It obviously took him a moment or two to get over the fact that an empty notebook can write on its own.

**You can write back? How? Who are you?**

_"Well that's something hard to explain and not something I want to explain to begin with. It looks like the boy is slightly suspicious of the magic item. I should just try to change the subject.''_

**_I told you, I am Tom Riddle. I can write back any time you need a friend, because I'm always here. Tell me, how old are you?_****  
**  
**I'm 6 but I will be 7 in May. You?**

_"Hmm… the kid is only 6; that could be a problem for performing a spell."_ Tom thought, _"On the other hand, it will be easier to manipulate him and gaining his trust should prove to be no problem at all."_

**_I am 6 too. So, please don't tell others about me. Grown ups scare me. Promise you won't. I can be your secret friend who you can tell things that would otherwise get you in trouble._**

**I promise I won't tell anyone about you, **came the answer in Edwen's childish handwriting.

**_Thanks,_** Tom wrote, a smile of triumph on his face.

_"This is going great, I'll finally be free. It'll be easy to use this kid as long as nobody knows that he is writing in this diary, my diary."_

Tom only needed the boy to trust him, and then… Yes, then he'll leave those pages forever. He'd leave the diary. He'd live a life once again, that was what he wanted**. **He still couldn't believe that he ever had such a stupid idea to lock himself up in a magic item, but now that he had a chance for freedom, he was once again starting to think that the idea was brilliant.**  
**  
As the days passed, Tom learned a lot about the boy. He lived one hundred years after Tom's birth. And he obviously lived on some island with 21 castles.

Tom was puzzled. He had never heard of place like that before and was since then trying to get more information from the boy. He couldn't figure out how had his diary ended up there.

He did learn a lot about the place from the boy though.

There was twenty one castle on those hills. The castles seem to be connected with secret underground passageways that Edwen only heard stories about. Not that that meant much, the boy was rarely going out of the castle he was living in. The place was some kind of island, which was protected with all kinds of magic.

The castles are placed in a strategic, royal way. One court is in the middle, it was the most beautiful one, according to Edwen, and it had an incredible garden ringing it. It was surrounded by five castles, just as amazing, and Edwen was living in one of them. Five castles had three fortresses between them and sea. The last fifteen fortresses were bigger and not as beautiful, they give a look of power, more then glamour and wealth.

Edwen didn't know lot about every castle in particular, but he said that he thinks they were all the same, more or less. Secret passageways, portraits of their pure-blood dynasty, big luxurious rooms and the same assignment of living parts for families.

He also didn't know much about the people who lived in the first court; according to the boy, no one did. But he'd heard stories about them. They all promised with an oath to protect with their lives the person (and his family) living in it.

Currently, there wasn't a single person living in the castle. Only the most important elders and five lords went there from time to time for important meetings. No one else went there, nor was anyone allowed to.

Tom thought that there was just something off about all of that, but he couldn't exactly figure out what, the information he got from Edwen weren't giving him any clues about it.

The way people are organized was interesting. Every dynasty has their own main and branch members, with elders (from the main families) and lord (from one most important family - the place is hereditary)

Tom was guessing that the family that lived in the central court was in control of all twenty fortresses. The ringing five were second in control and each controls three castles below.

So Tom created a diagram of what he new in his head.

**ONE LORD **(That momentarily doesn't exist, but would live in the first court with his family)...{**secret servants**}

**l**

**5 lords and their elders**

**(lords and elders get to go on meetings of the main lord)...**{branch members}

**l**

**15 lords**

**and elders**

**(each lord responds to his main castle - 3 for 1 [ like fortresses]) -only lords get to go on meetings of the main lord**

**l**

branch members

Anyway, a month or so latter another kid started writing in his diary. It was a girl, five years old. Edwen's little sister to be more specific. Her name was Artemisa.

They were interesting for a 5 and 6 year-olds. They were each other opposites to some level. They were both smart, but it was Edwen who was a little brain box, Artemisa was a little trouble-maker who had amazing what-to-do-when-you-are-bored brainwaves, she was fearless and headstrong. Edwen on the other hand was quiet and obedient. Artemisa was outgoing, while Edwen was a little bit antisocial, which probably explaind his lack of awareness about things happening around him. His little sister sometimes knew more then he did.

Tom had been writing to them for months now, and he actually started to get attached to them.

He didn't really liked the thought of them affecting him that way, and he was starting to believe that all those years he had spent looked up with nothing to do were finally starting to take affect.

Tom started to enjoy Edwen and Artemisa's company. He started to somewhat care for them. It annoyed him and in the same time, he knew that their company made him happier, he enjoyed it. He was slowly becoming a figure of an older brother to them.

It's not that he loved them like siblings or anything, he only felt a sort of tender curiosity.

Their optimism and their innocent way of thinking was what bound him to Edwen and Artemisa, they were something he always wanted to be, even if he would never admit that he ever wanted such thing.

He had never been like that, not even in their age. He had been born in time of short lull between two World Wars. It had been only 8 years since the World War I had ended, when his life started in that detestable orphanage. He lived there with other children, most were war orphans. Every day was terrible in every possible way, he hated every second there. He spent his days hungry and cold, even afraid sometimes, and when he was thirteen, the World War II started, and the bad went worse.

The only bright thing in Tom's life had been Hogwarts, where he was safe and even a bit happy. But even the magic world was in war, so not long after he started the school, Hogwarts too became just another refuge.

He had never had real friends; they all wanted his power and knowledge, not his company. Tom had found his company in books of spells and magic. His heaven was in books since the day he learned to read. Books had been his only faithful friends. And now he was actually getting attached to two kids, to two breakable, human beings. It sickened him and in the same time he enjoyed ever minute of it.

Time passed, birthdays came and went. Edwen turned seven, Artemisa turned six. And the older they were, the more of a trouble they become. Edwen had started some serious studies and while the things he learned were quite interesting, his non-stop bragging about what he knew was irritating. Artemisa had started studying some elementary subjects as well, and while she wasn't constantly bragging about her success, she was complaining about having to study to begin with. She was sure that she won't be needing any of the stuff she learned in the near future and was thinking that therefor she could have started her studies latter in life.

November came, the siblings were stuck indoors and wouldn't stop writing to Tom.

He actually started to wish for loneliness. Until Edwen wrote him a message:

**Tom is there any way Artemisa and I could free you? We both agreed that we want to have you here with us, and not trapped in a book for an eternity.**

**_There is a way… but you are presumably too young to do it._**

**Come on! You always say that to us**! It was Artemisa who wrote this time, her writing neater then her brother's, which is ironic considering a fact she hates writing and reading, unlike her brother.

**_I know, and I am sorry. But that is the truth. You two are only seven and six. What can you do?_****  
**  
**A lot!** Artemisa wrote. She was mad at Tom for telling her that she was just a kid. The usual argument. To young to study, but when someone tells her she is to little to do something else, she is suddenly all grown up.

**Look, if you give us instructions, I am positive that Artemisa and I would be capable of freeing you. **Edwen wrote, trying to be the reasonable one.

_**I am sorry, but there are too many things that could go wrong. I can't let you risk your lives for me.**_

**You do know that we will try something on our own if you don't help us?**It was Artemisa again.

_''God, they are so stubborn sometimes''_ Tom thought.

Then another thought crept in. Why was he being so worried? Here was the opportunity he had waited for!

But he wondered. What would he be like when he emerged? What if spell doesn't work right for some reason. Could he really trust such young children to do the spell correctly? But they were stupid enough to try something on their own, and maybe destroy his diary and him by accident.

_"If they do something on their own they will probably end up dead,"_ he reasoned. But if he guided them; there was a good chance they could succeed.

After a minute of wrestling with his thoughts, he decided to guide them.

**_Fine, I'll tell you how to preform the spell. But under one condition, you will have to be extremely careful and listen everything I say. Do not do anything without asking me first. Is that clear?_**

**Yes.**

**Of course**.

**_Edwen, as you are seven, I expect you to take full responsibility for your little sister, and every single thing that will be included. Do you understand?_**

**Yes.  
**  
**_Then pay close attention..._**

* * *

It was almost Christmas time when the preparations were finished. It took longer then Tom would have liked it, but they had to be careful not to get caught. But now that everything was ready all they had to do was to wait for was the full red moon.

And the night with the blood read eye, looking over the island in the silent night soon arrived.

**It is almost time, we did everything as you told us to Tom. **Edwen wrote.

**_And you are absolutely sure that everything is done correctly?_**Tom asked. He felt a bit anxious. What if something went wrong.

**Yes, stop worrying.**

**_I am not worrying. I now you two did everything right so far. And I'm sure you'll do everything correctly till the end. It's just no one has ever done this before._**

**No?**

**_No. This ceremony is my creation. I made every fraction of it. I'm the one who formulated the potion you are going to use, I made up the spell you are going to read, I made the form candles are going to be lined in during the ritual. I'm the first and only wizard to ever live in a book and then continue his life, free of it._**Tom told them_._

**You were the creator of the spell?**

Tom could sense their shock. He hadn't told them before that the ritual is his creation? Upsss…too late to deny it now.

**_Yes._**

**How?**

**_Once I am free from this pages, I'll show you. Once I'm free I'll take you to Hogwarts when you turn eleven. You remember? That castle where kids go to study magic… I'll take you there, I promise. Don't you believe me?_**

**We do**, was all Edwen wrote.

**We always do Tom.** Artemisa wrote, trying to be more convincing.

**You are like our brother.** Edwen continued his previous answer.

**_Thank you. You have no idea how much that means to me. _**Tom replied.

And it really did meant a lot. Even as Tom tried to convince himself that it was just to keep them so he can get out, he knew, deep down that he was lying to himself.

After so many years of solitude, Tom wanted company. And the siblings writing to him right now were intriguing enough to catch his attention and hold it. They were fun to chat with, even if they were quite immature. They saved him from hell called boredom and loneliness. Hell he never felt until he was locked inside his own creation.

**_Good night guys, get some sleep, you'll need it._**

**Good night Tom!**Artemisa scribbled.

**Good night Tom, we'll get you out of there soon.** Edwen reassured him.

**_I know you will. I trust you._**

_"And as unbelievable as that is, I actually mean it. I really do trust you two. Don't disappoint me… ever."_

* * *

**_Did you put the candles in exact order as I sad? Big ones creating a star with 7 ends and little ones a circle around it? The shape of the figure has to be perfect. _**Tom asked through the diary.

**Done.**Artemisa wrote down happily. She had been enthusiastic all day, because in few more minutes, her friend, the boy she had been writing too for the past year, will finally be free.

**_Good. Now place the potion in the middle and watch closely and describe how the potion change._**Tom instructed.

A few minutes later Edwen wrote, his handwriting slightly uneven: **Potion changed its color from luminous green to bloody red. Was that in the wind?**

**_Yes. Next, Artemisa you'll put the diary in the bowl with potion and get out of the circle as fast as you can. Edwen, the same second she puts the diary in the bowl you'll start reading the spell I gave you earlier. Artemisa will read the last part, I marked, together with you. Do you follow me?_**

**Yes.**

**_Ok, now start._**

Tom watched the little sober green book suck in the shining blood-coloured liquid, flooding his memories. He knew that outside of his diary the blaze from candles created an magnificent fiery cage.

He became an icy blue whirl as he abandoned his diary, and then fell on the ground in his human form.

The candle's flames blew out. Tom picked himself up and looked around. Stars were shining through the big window, the full red moon lighting the big stony room, reflecting in his emerald eyes, giving them a creepy shine. In the corner of the room two figures stood staring at him.

After a few minutes that seemed like eternity two kids ran towards Tom.

"We did it. We did it," A girl's voice rung through the room.

"You are free," the boy whispered. He obviously didn't want to wake up anyone.

Two kids sat down next to the window, so Tom could see them clearly. They were both smiling, watching him with excitement.

The boy, Edwen, had a baby blonde hair and silver eyes. His face was still rounded and he looked younger then he actually was. His little sister, Artemisa, had a long straight hair with a golden shade, her eyes were aquamarine blue, looking like two ice blocks shining with invisible fire from the inside.

But what caught Tom's attention the most was that he was the same height as Edwen.

_"Something is wrong, I should be taller than he is, he is only seven after all,"_ he thought.

Tom looked down at his hands, his body… _"This is not possible!"_

He panicked. He was trapped in a six years-old body! He was supposed to be fifteen, not six! Or was he almost seven? It didn't matter, both ages were wrong.

"Tom? Are you okay?" Edwen's worried voice carried over into Tom's stunned mind.

Tom looked up at the now worried faces of his "friends".

"I'm fine," Tom said putting on a smile.

What is he going to do now? He couldn't be alone looking like a 6 years-old. He'd have to find a way to stay with Edwen and Artemisa until he found a way to return to normal. That wouldn't be too hard. The kids already loved him. Though their parents might be a problem…

"Tom are you sad because of something?" Artemisa asked in a concerned voice.

"Well I have nowhere to stay now that I'm free from the diary," Tom told the two, "And I can'r go anywhere on my own. I'm too young to live alone."

"You can stay with us. Mother won't mind!" Artemisa said as fast as she could. She seemed happy. The thought of having Tom live with them excited her.

"Neither will father. You can stay in my room until they have one for you." Edwen finished his sister thoughts.

"Are you sure they'll be fine with that? I don't want to be a burden."

"Tom this is the biggest castle in Britain. We live here with our cousins. Almost 1000 people live in here, it'll be easy to find one more place for you."

Tom smiled at two kids and they smiled back. Perfect. Now that he had a good chance at staying here he can try and figure out some of the things that puzzled him about the place.

… and he won't be alone anymore. He would make sure that Edwen and Artemisa are always on his side.


	3. New home

**3. New home**

Tom was lying in his bed. He couldn't sleep. Again.

He had been living with Gray family ever since Edwen and Artemisa had freed him from the diary. Their parents seemed glad to have another child, especially since both of their kids seemed so fond of Tom.

The whole family had quickly accepted him and treated him like he had been there from the start. Like they really were blood related. It was an odd experience to say the least. And it took Tom some time to get used to it. But with time he even grow to like them all.

However that didn't change the fact that he still sometimes laid in bed unable to sleep, thinking about the place he now lived in. He just couldn't forget that there was something off about him being here.

Even after four years of living on the island many things still puzzled him about it.

He quietly slipped from his bad and left his room. He enjoyed walking down the corridors of the castle almost as much as he had once enjoyed wandering around Hogwarts. Though, this place was more quiet at night than Hogwarts could ever be with all the snoring portraits.

With the first glance everybody would say that the two were similar. The castle he was in had less portraits and ornaments then Hogwarts did, but was better decorated. All the different sculptures, ornaments and architecture fitted together perfectly.

But there was a big difference between the two.

This castle was organised so that every family living here had it's own quarters, like little (or in some cases huge) apartments. It also had public parts like big library, bigger then the one at Hogwarts. The garden was also public. And there were some other rooms as well, like few classrooms for kids.

Tom heard the clock counting one o'clock. It was late, and he should really go back to bed. He started to turn to the hallway next to him, but then decided that he was going to take the longer way back to his bedroom. It took him half an hour to finally return to his bed.

"Tom wake up!"

"Mmm...what is it...let me sleep...it's still early..." Tom grunted.

"Come on, you have to get up, it's already 11, and Father wants to see you," Edwen said, shaking Tom.

"I'm getting up, I'm getting up! Stop shaking me! God, you can be so annoying sometimes."

"Father wants to see you, what did you do Tom? I'm really worried about you."

"I didn't do anything, and no, I don't have any idea why he wants to see me. I know I'm in some trouble. No, I'm still not going to bother to figure out what is wrong. Anything else?"

"I wasn't going to ask all that, I was going to inform you that I overheard Father talking to Mum about you going to the central castle for something. You should be worried," Edwen said in offended tone.

"Main castle? That's not likely, is it? No one ever goes there unless he is a lord or stupid elder. You are the heir of your father and you never went there, how is it that I get to go?" Tom was confused now. _"I have a really ill feeling about this."  
_  
"How should I know how you get to go? It's not like Father tells me or something. I told you I overheard him. I'm still eleven, and I won't have anything with politics until I'm fifteen, in case you forgot."

"Of course…"

"There you are Tom," Mrs. Grey cut in "Orlando is waiting for you outside. You didn't eat breakfast, take a sandwich with you."

"Thank you."

"Tom sweetheart, this is Merlin knows which time that I'm telling you this, stop being so formal. Just remember we are glad we have you here and to act like you are in your home. I'll let this one slip as a habit. Now hurry up and tell Orlando I'm waiting for you two before cooking diner."

"I will."

Mrs. Gray was kind and well educated. She was a wife who could help her husband with anything form politics to family matters. She was also the one who picked out which studies Tom should take, when he became a part of the family. After maybe ten minutes of talking to him she had the list of classes Tom would go to.

She had picked two things that were beneath the level he was on with other things and five studies that she thought would interest him the most. Tom was very grateful to her, for successfully putting him in advanced studies without him having to take any tests.

Kids were learning things differently here, doing wandless magic and everything, and he wasn't sure he would have been able to pass the tests. She had also helped him in his studies until he reached the level that was necessary.

* * *

Tom walked slowly toward the entrance hall, greeting people he passed.

After four years in this place he knew all the faces in the castle and a lot others living in others fortresses. There were a lot of children different ages, and Tom wasn't attached to one of them.

The only kid besides Edwen and Artemisa who he had some kind of friendship with was an arrogant kid from a branch family, Stefan Greengrass II. Tom played chess with him from time to time, and he had to admit, Stefan was intelligent. Tom even enjoyed the time he spent talking to him. It was always interesting to hear the boys opinion on different things. Especially since he was two years older and quite mature for his age.

What was strange about the place was that every single child was home-schooled. Not one of them was going to Hogwarts, they didn't even know about it! Tom had tried to find over the years at least one person who knew someone who went there. But it ended up that he was searching for the not existing human.

Those was disturbing news. Tom wanted to go back there. He was living for the day he steps back on the stony floor of the Great Hall in his beloved castle.

"Tom, hurry up! We don't have all day." Mr. Grey's voice cut through Tom's daydreaming.

"Oh" Tom looked around him, he had been standing still in the middle of the hall thinking about Hogwarts. Running outside he looked up at Mr. Grey's serious face.

"Tom as you already know, you'll join me and other elders in Court." He announced.

Tom noticed long time ago that everyone called the central castle the Court. He heard that the Court had an actual name like all the other castles did. All were named in Latin. But for whatever reason people were rarely using those names.

He was just going to ask how was it that he is going to the meeting when Mr. Grey said, "Everything will be explained once we get there."

And with that Mr. Grey started walking away, fully expecting Tom to follow, which he did, confusion obvious on his face. He was in for a weird day today.

They walked in silence. The closer to the court they got, the more on edge Tom felt. Both from curiosity and some ill feeling he had in his stomach.

A few months ago he and some other children had tried to get in the garden of the Court. Their attempt had been a total failure. And now, here he was just about to enter and finally see the legendary garden and the Court (well a room or two at least, but he will see some part of that magnificent edifice).

When they arrived in front of the gilded gates, Tom was so on edge that any second longer thinking about the Court or the meeting would either make him jumpy or sick. But instead he just stared at the gates.

The reflection of the sunbeams was making the gate shine as it opened to let them in. As Tom passed the gate he was convinced he'd just stepped into heaven.

_"This is...wow...I...wow...I don't even know a word which could show what this place is like...to tell that it's beautiful is as same as telling that mosquito is as big as whale. This is inconceivable. Who knew something like this exists?" _Tom thought. His eyes shifted from one thing to another, he was trying to see and remember everything. Every thought, every memory, every dream of Hogwarts forgotten. He couldn't wait to tell Edwen and Artemisa about this place. Stories didn't show a glitter of the shining place.

"Come on Tom, you'll have time to look around later, we have a meeting we have to get to now."

Tom walked towards the voice like a zombie, not really controlling his movements, they were mechanical. His movements were the same as he walked through the big wooden door of the Court, but his fascination disappeared the same second he entered the meeting room and it was replaced with strong nervousness.

Looking around he saw that every lord and elder from the five castles was there, even lords from fifteen fortresses were there. They were all sitting in semicircle form around the empty throne. Four lords were sitting in front line with elders behind them, fifteen lords at the end. One elder, who was from the same castle as Tom, was standing in the middle of the room. His name was Sirius Mervelios III. Tom spent a lot of time talking to him, he found that man to be intriguing. That man was also the one who stood up for him, when all the lords were about to decide if he should be allowed to stay on the island back when Gray siblings freed him from the diary.

Mr. Grey joined other lords, leaving Tom at the door, staring.

"Tom, my dear boy, come sit here." Sirius showed him a place facing everyone, place right in front of the throne.

_"What the hell?"_ Tom panicked. _"This can't be good. Why am I placed in front of everyone?"_

He sat where he was told, carefully keeping his face blank. But the truth was he was fully alarmed. _"What's going on here?"  
_  
Throwing a look at Mr. Grey and then at Sirius didn't help him at all, their faces revealed nothing. They wouldn't do anything to him would they? No, they wouldn't. They were the ones who convinced everybody to let him stay on this island. Still... Doubts continued to bother his mind, biting off parts of his respect and trust for them.

"You may start now Mervelios," one of the lords announced.

Sirius nodded his head, and began in a strong voice, "Right. As you all know around four years have passed since the time Tom came to this island. You'll all agree that we didn't have a single incident that included him."

All heads nodded. Tom, on the other hand, felt empty. There was no way they were having such a meeting just to talk how good he was.

Sirius continued. "However, yesterday an owl arrived, with a letter addressed on him."

Tom's heart beat faster. Could it be from Hogwarts? But how did it pass the magic shields protecting the island?

"Tom you seem to know something about it. Tell us," one of the lords ordered, Tom didn't know his name and he didn't care, right now he hated that stupid man. He had made a mistake showing excitement on his face when he heard about the letter but he hadn't been able to help it.

"I...hmm...I was just..." He felt someone's hand on his shoulder, and looking up he saw Sirius nodding to him for support. Looking back Tom saw Mr. Gray giving him a kind smile. "I... is that letter from Hogwarts?"

Tom could hear whispering.

"It indeed is Tom. How did you know that?" Sirius asked.

"Where are you kid really from is a better question," one of the lords stated. Everybody nodded and looked at Tom, doubt clear in their eyes.

The hand on his shoulder squeezed him lightly. Well it looked like whatever happened, Orlando and Sirius were on his side. He wasn't the one who trusted people, but he had a feeling that right now he should. And he didn't have any other choice to begin with. Tom knew that people circling him could easily overpower him, he didn't even have a wand. Every person in this room was trained to use sword and knew a few fighting skills. On top of it all they didn't need wand to use magic wands, only their mind and hands.

Tom learned all of that with Edwen and Artemisa. He was powerful, but when it came down to it, he was far from the level people in this room were at. And it would take years before he was on their level.

"I...I'm from a diary," He really needed time to think about this, and had no time to do it, "Well kind of. I created a spell that would allow me to enter some object, book for example, and live there until someone frees me from it nevertheless of the time passing. I was fifteen when I entered the diary. I don't know how my diary ended up on this island, I swear I was never on it before. I was one of the many students of Hogwarts, and that's how I guessed who sent the letter. I was supposed to be fifteen when leaving the diary but for some reason I ended up being six or seven…''

"So I thought."

Everyone turned towards Sirius when he spoke.

"Well something like that anyway. If you cut out the part of living in the diary thanks to the spell you yourself created. I admit I was missing that one. My dear boy, I've been watching you for sometime now. Even with your careful and quite amazing acting you were just too smart to be a little boy, you do have the intelligence of a genius and a photographic memory. But there was still something off about you, now I know what. You're from a totally different time than this that's passing now. What time are you from?"

"About one hundred years has passed since the time when I was born," Tom replied.

"Older then he looks, yet younger then he is!" Tom looked shocked at Sirius. What? Where did that came from?

Everyone was looking around and whispering, glancing at Tom, then whispering again. Tom was confused, he was lost at what was going on. The atmosphere in the room was changing. It became tensed and excited at the same time. It was like they were all waiting for something. Mr. Gray was now looking worried.

"If I may say, we should vote to see if we agree about Tom staying in this castle for a week to confirm our beliefs," one of the elders suggested.

"I don't believe that would be the right choice," Orlando cut in, in a serious tone.

"We don't have a choice, we've been waiting for him for years. We have to do this!"

Everyone started nodding, Orlando and Sirius exchanged worried glances.

_"Waiting for what? Come on people! Will somebody please tell me what's going on?" _Tom was starting to get irritated; he didn't like not knowing what was going on.

"It's decided then. Tom, you'll stay in the Court for a week. When the week ends, we'll have a meeting again. Grey, Mervelios... we cannot accept your objection. Everyone else agrees to this course of action. I declare this meeting over."

They all started to exit, leaving a confused Tom and anxious Orlando and strangely relaxed Sirius behind.

"Tom listen, you'll have to be careful, watch over yoursel,." Mr. Gray said in a concerned tone. He was worried for Tom's well being. Tom sometimes wondered if his father was like that. He doubt it.

"I know you can do it. I believe in you." Sirius' voice was full of honesty. Then he turned to Mr. Gray, "He'll be fine Orlando, my friend. Tom is a bright boy. He'll get around to figuring this out. I know he will. Tom, we have to leave now, but remember you are a genius like no other and this is just another puzzle waiting to be solved. It is a dangerous one, but we believe in you. Edwen and Artemisa would be broken to hear that you got hurt, so you have to do this for them too. Let luck be with you boy."

And with that they both turned and exited the room.

Tom was left all alone watching the door close in confusion and disbelief.


	4. Court

**4. Court**

It has been around 15 minutes since everyone left and Tom was still sitting at the same spot staring at the door.

Slowly his mind started a process of getting out of shock and analyzing what just happened. They left him all alone for a week in the Court.

"_But I have a feeling it won't be an excursion."_

Tom thought while Sirius's words rang in his head _-"Be careful my boy."-_

"_Careful…What for? Is there another face of this paradise? If there is…in which shape is it hidden? What should I watch out for? – "This is just another puzzle waiting to be solved, a dangerous one, but you can do it. We believe in you."- Sirius said that."_

"I'll get to the bottom of this." Tom said to himself.

Going through the stories about the place he walked out of the meeting room. His every step careful and calculated.

_"What can be true in those stories and what is just fictitious stuff? Where should I start my research?"_

Tom tried to think logically about what he would need in order to survive the coming week. First he would have to find where the kitchen is. He couldn't spent a week here without eating, next would be bathroom and library, followed by living-room or bedroom.

Theoretically speaking, bathroom and living-room should be easy to find. Tom didn't know about the bedroom, but he was sure finding kitchen was going to be hard, he guessed every place used by servants more then main family would be hidden.

"_Come to think of it, how is it that this place is such a big puzzle if elders can so easily get in? Why didn't they try to find out secrets? Or maybe…maybe they did try it but failed, if so what can I do?…Why did they failed?…Why…Come on! Think…spells…no…there's no way it's something like that, if it was no-one would be able to pass them, even if it is a heir…unless he has inborn knowledge" _Tom thought sarcastically. _"Or spells would be easy enough for elders to break and they could wander the castle then…so spells, one big NO…what else…huh! I can't think of anything! What's wrong with me? Calm down. Don't panic. Take a deep breath. Relax. Think and…why do I have a feeling someone is watching me?"_

Tom automatically turned around himself, but he could't see anybody. All doors leading from the entrance hall were closed, there wasn't a place anyone could hide, beside the corner of the huge staircase, but he had been turned towards them this whole time, he would have saw if anybody was there.

_"Portraits? No, that's not it. I felt like someone was right behind me, and I still have a feeling that who ever it is, is in the same room. Where?"_

Tome looked around once again and found nothing.

_"How is it that there even is anybody to spy on me. I'm sure I heard all the elders leave. Maybe I'm just being paranoid. Well if there really is someone following my every move I'll just ignore that whoever-it-is and concentrate on finding…"_

"Idiot!" Tom cursed himself.

_"How can I be so stupid? Secret servants! They are the one keeping puzzle insoluble! They are the one deciding who can go in and out and where can others wander. They are the one in charge until their master returns!"_

"Uh, how could I made such a howler? It was so obvious that it hurts!" Tom sad irritated.

So there was a new question now. How was he going to spent a whole week there with someone breathing behind his beck? Besides, if they control where you can and can't go, he would not be able to find out anything. His head started to hurt. If he keeps questioning every move he made he would become a stony sculpture! And he was getting hungry anyway.

"_So the castle I was in... where were some more important rooms? Kitchen was… everywhere, every family has it's own. That went nowhere." _Tom thought angrily.

"Clam down…OK…concentrate…Think of which castle dose this one remind you…"

Tom thought about all the big houses and castles he ever saw, even in a picture or read about in book. Then in kicked him. Hogwarts.

He went through the mental map of it, remembering every single detail, every stone and portrait. So if he tries to mimic the Hogwarts position of the rooms (some of them anyway), the kitchen would be on the right side of the staircase, lining-room would probably be the big door on his right (where was the Great Hall in Hogwarts), door behind him are the exit, staircase in front lead to other important parts on higher levels, the hallway on the left side of the stairs is leading to who knows where (there are no class-rooms here) and the last door on his left is a meeting room.

Tom went toward big wooden carved door that he hoped were the door of the living room or some kind of welcoming salon. Like in those old fashioned muggle houses of rich people.

The door cracked open and he peeked inside. He watched in disbelieve the scene in the room. The entrance hall was classic, with marbled sculptures and stairs, with pictures in renaissance stile, it gave you the impression of wealth but with some kind of desolation. Living-room was noting like it. It was overflowed with bowls of different shapes and colors, some with crystals or jewels, others gilded, all placed on shelves ringing the room. You couldn't see the wall behind all those vases, glasses and jars. They were all shining even in the semi darkness of the room. In the middle was gigantic table surrounded by soft looking armchairs and one couch.

_"Ok, I loved the hall but this is totally tasteless! What are all those bowls for anyway?" _Tom thought.

Coming near one of them he carefully took it of the shelf and looked inside.

_"Liquid? What for? Are all those full with some kind of liquid or other stuff?" _Tom returned blow on its place and looked around the room.

It looks like his guess was wrong. Thought, this room looks like living-room it's not it. This room was most likely a storage for things like, judging by the bowl he looked at, potions and maybe potion ingredients as well.

Is it possible that elders can go in here? Tom had to admit that it was likely. He didn't look in every bowl but he guessed that they all had similar things in them.

Well that changes everything! He couldn't compare this place to Hogwarts at all now. Stepping back in hall Tom continued to map that place what he knew and what he thought was.

Exit was behind, on left was meeting room, on right was some kind of stack, there were two hallway on each side of the stairs in font. Court was huge so there was still a chance that one of those two hallways leads towards the living-room or kitchen. The Court seemed to be bigger than the rest of the castles witch when you think about it wasn't logical one bit. There should be more people living in those castles than this one ever had. Court was placed on the hill and had an enormous garden that all must had had some effect on the looking of the castle, and there was possibly a big part of castle used only by servants like those inner circle turrets. Meaning that one hall leads towards underground passageways and rooms while the other hall leads towards servant part of the Court.

_"Yeah, that sound logical. And theoretically it should be correct. So...I'm going upstairs. There shouldn't be any important secret passageways, since I'm sure they were only used by servants and maybe by family, when they need shortcuts or escape."_

Tom slowly walked up the staircase watching his every step. When he was on the last stair he turned around and looked at the entrance hall again. Sunbeams were coming apart, lighting the room beneath from the high crystal dome above. It was an enthralling sight. Tom watched it for a few more seconds before his curiosity and hunger took over control.

Turning back he could see that the classic luxuriousness continues. This corridor seemed to be just the upper part of the hall below. It had the same rich red carpet, same marbled walls and sculptures, renaissance pictures and a few passageways leading from it towards other parts of the Court. There were two gilded armchairs with soft beige pillows on them, and little wooden table between them.

_"I have a feeling this was the right way, witch would mean that my guess about the two corridors going on left and right sides of the staircase was correct. Now...which one of those 4 passageways leads towards the kitchen and dining-room? Houses (and castles too) usually have one private part and one part for the guests. Furthermore in such a big castle there are probably many spare bedrooms... And some rooms for entertainment. So one hallway leads towards the living-room and other rooms for passing a day. Another hallway must lead towards the bedrooms. And...I have no idea where can the other two hallways could be leading to. Guess I still need a hallway for a kitchen and dining-room but those can't be the only rooms hallway is leading towards, maybe there is... one big balcony and...oh forget it! I grow up in orphanage I have no idea where wealth people like to trow their money. I'm going to find the kitchen first. The most used rooms should be at beginnings of the corridors."_

Tom went a few steps into each corridor looking around. All hallways were long and wide with high windows and curtains made of some expensive looking material that he couldn't name. The sunbeams were entering the hallways in gold strips, scattering around in little rainbows wherever they fell on the shining crystal ornaments. Whoever said all that glitters is not gold, couldn't have been more wrong even if he said that snakes can fly, because in Tom's opinion Court was glittering in every possible way and the place sure was golden, heavenly perfect.

The first corridor on left had pictures shoving the life of aristocrats whit all shiny little eases their life had. The second corridor on left had more or less the same kind of pictures only little more relaxing. First corridor on the right side had pictures connected to food, further you went in it more foody pictures were.

And the last corridor, second on the right, had pictures connected to the knowledge and science. Well he still didn't know to place all rooms, he didn't even know what all those rooms could be, but Tom did have a good start and a general picture, this was easier than he thought it would be. Actually it was way to easy.

So for the foody hallway.

Tom was walked down corridor opening doors he passed, not one of them was the kitchen door. He peeked in about 5 rooms by now and every room was a different kind of dining-room. Different stile and size, for more or lass people, for a family alone or for 50 guests… All that time Tom was wandering around, he could feel eyes following him, sometimes he could swear he heard a sound behind him, but every time he turned and looked behind himself he couldn't see or hear anything. And for the first time in his life he felt lonely, for the first time he missed someone, he missed all Greys and Sirius.

_"I can't think about it now, as disturbing as it is, me missing anybody, I have other problems._ _It looks like my_ _guess was correct after all. Kitchen is in some secret passageway. Now how am I going to find it?"_

Tom walked up and down the corridor hundred times but nothing stood out. Strategically thinking Tom concentrated on the part of hallway that was most likely to have a hidden kitchen entrance. The dining-room that was according to him most used should be nearest to the kitchen.

He didn't even know how long it has been since he started his research but he was so NOT going to give up. Never give up, that was his life motto. And that isn't going to change now. Though, truth to be told he wasn't sure he should eat anything even if he finds the kitchen and he was getting more and more uncomfortable and anxious with every passing second. He could still feel someone following him and he couldn't do anything about it since he couldn't find that someone! He should have played hind and seek more when he was little. He didn't even want to think what would happen if those secret servants decide that he shouldn't be let to roam around Court, he felt ill every time that train of thoughts invaded his mind.

Tom was trying to open different portraits for some time now when finally…

"I did it!" His suddenly careless voice rang through the airless castle. Smile appeared on his lips before he felt someone's presence behind him…and then he blackout.


	5. The Protectors

**5. The Protectors**

Tom woke up in the middle of the well lit room. Judging by the cold hard and rough material he could feel under his fingers he was lying on a stone floor.

"So you are finally awake, it was about time. What's your name? Why are you here? What did you think you would attain by staying in the Court after the meeting was over? Why did the elders left you here? And how is it that you weren't driven by the spells in the one of the two hallways on the staircase sides?"

Tome eyes accustomed to light and he looked around. The room had a few people, all men over the hill.

"You can answer the questions willingly or we can make you, the choice is yours," one of the men on his right said.

"We can force you to tell us your every secret," the other one announced.

Tom was sure they could. Forcing him to say anything wouldn't be difficult, he didn't even have a wand and they could probably use magic without it (like everyone else on this island ). There was an air around them that spoke of power. There was no doubt in his mind that they can easily overpower him. That meant talking…

"My name is Tom Marvolo Riddle. I'm only here because elders decided that I should stay for a week in Court. When I was left alone I tried to find the kitchen and then I was knocked out. I do not know why the elders left me in here, but I do wish that I know because that would mean I wouldn't be in this trouble to begin with." Tom said all of that with fast but emotionless voice.

"And spells?" The first voice reminded him. tom turned towards it's source.

"What spells?…I didn't use any spells nor did I felt any spells clouding my mind."

"Which castle are you from boy?"

Tom thought fast about his position. He really didn't have any choice but to tell them the truth.

"I live in the castle under control of Lord Orlando Gray."

_"Elders were shocked when I told them where I really was from, that was the reason they left me here for a week. Maybe I should play on that. Should I lay all my cards down or keep 'I'm not even trying to guess what's going on' face…They'll most likely force me to tell everything anyway. I guess talking is my only opinion since I have no idea whatsoever what I am dealing with."_

"I lived in his family, but I'm not from that castle, I'm not from this island…I'm not even from this time."

There was a silence. They were waiting for him to continue. Tom took a deep breath and continued in the same cold nothing-matters-to-me tone.

"I was born in 1926." If he keeps talking like this, he might be able to avoid saying everything. "When I was 15, I created a spell that locked me in the diary. Then…4 years ago Edwen and Artemisa Gray found my diary and gave me beck my freedom. I still don't know why but, when I was finally free, I looked like as a six-years old boy instead of my true age…I've been living here since than."

When he finished the story all the faces displayed shock. Then some turned in mask of curiosity, other were wearing disbelief or doubt.

One of the men walked slowly, like he is considering his every step, as he approached Tom. When he finally stopped less than a feet away from the boy, he locked his old fawn eyes with Tom's dark ones and spoke out.

"This is the first time in my long life I heard voice that speaks so coldly, so heartlessly when his life is in danger. This is the first time in all this years I lived that I see someone so young with so calculating eyes and powerful look, I also never saw as blank face as yours and yet I believe you. Maybe I am just getting old so I'll test you. I am one of many Protectors of this castle, we are here to keep its secrets away from curious eyes and weak mind. We can't fail. But you do not have a weak mind, do you?"

He looked at the boy in front of him for a few more seconds like he was trying to read him, to see trough him. But those dark eyes stubbornly refused to give anything away.

"Show me your left arm," the Protector demanded out of blue, putting his hand out and catching Tom of guard.

_"What? What purpose would that have? This is just ridiculous," _Tom folded his hands into fists for a second before rising his left hand towards the man in front of him. The Protector caught his wrist and held it tightly. He took back Tom's sleeve and looked closely at his forearm and hand. Then he raised his other hand with only his forefinger and middle-finger lifted and started mumbling some kind of spell under his breath. He than made two signs or something with his hand and when he returned his hand to the first position, Tom could see some kind of symbols on fingertips of the two lifted fingers. Symbols that looked like ancient runes but Tom never saw them before and his every mark was O when he was at Hogwarts.

The Protector moved his hand again and placed his shining fingers on Tom's wrist. Tom had to squeeze his teeth to stop himself from squealing in pain. His skin felt like burning at the place Protectors fingers were touching him. Only a second later (even thought to Tom it seemed like eternity) a tag started to form on Tom's hand.

He watched in shock as the mark took its form, and he could feel eyes of the other Protectors watching him. His hand now had a snake's head on it while the tail ringed Tom's wrist once before continuing up to the middle of his forearm.

The Protector moved his hand from Tom's, releasing boy's wrist. He learned more then he wanted to. He couldn't understand the wish of his master, but he was going to follow trough it non the less. With a deep sigh he made a sudden quick move with his hand and boy in front of him lost consciousness.


	6. Salazar Slytherin

Last chapter: Tom met Protectors

Author's note: Sorry for the late update, for some reason I couldn't update the story =(

It was getting on my nerves.

If you haven't noticed chapters 3 (new home) and 4(new home part 2) are now just 3 (new home), so old chapter 5 (court) is 4 and there is a new chapter 5 (protectors)

if you haven't read it go back and read it.

R&R =)

* * *

**6. Salazar Slytherin**

First thing Tom noticed when he woke up next time was that his head hurts, a lot.

Next, he noticed that he was laying on something soft, like bed or sofa.

Slowly opening his eyes, Tom got up in a sitting position looking around himself.

He was tucked in a queen-size bed, with soft reach-red cover and plump red pillows different shades and shapes. Translucent light red curtains were circling him, and with one soft touch tom felt silk under his fingertips.

Parting curtains and putting his bare foot on the cuddly carpet he looked around the room. The only light in the room was coming from the moon outside. An enormous window was letting its rays into the room, the stars were split on the dark night sky and Tom guessed it was late, maybe sometime little past midnight. Making out the furniture in the room he could tell the room was done in renaissance stile like most of the Court.

The wooden door suddenly spring open revealing a cloaked man, probably in his twenties, with rigorous dark hair and sharp grass green eyes.

"Follow me!"

That was an order and Tom thought about staying in room just for the hell of it. No-one orders him around! But some instinct screamed at him to do exactly what he was told to, so he followed silently.

They went in a secret passageway and walked down the stairs. Tom felt cold. The shadows of the hall were eating his peace and only sorce of light were rare torches.

* * *

"I brought him." The man said bowing.

The dark was shrouding the room they entered and Tom couldn't see the finger in front of his face.

He felt anxious.

"Finally, we meet Tom…I'm Salazar Slytherin."

The lights went on and blinded Tom for a second before he saw an old man dressed in green, with long gray beard.

His mind had a fast flash of the stony face of Slytherin's sculpture from Chamber of secrets. The man in front of him was it's older copy. But that was impossible, was it? Salazar Slytherin lived and died more than thousand years ago. Or at lest he was supposed to be dead, no-one knew where his tomb was, but it just wasn't possible to live so many years!

"I've been waiting for you to show up for some time now, I thought you'll never come. Let me see your left hand boy."

Tom was still in shock but he stretched out his left hand as 'asked'.

"Hmmm….The mark is looked from all I could tell. Listen carefully Tom, you will come here tomorrow night again, then I'll preform a spell which should unlock your true power."

Tom mind clicked on this words _"True power…what true power…I hope it's huge. I knew I was special, I always knew it…"_

"Furthermore, from here on you'll most likely receive new training and lessons in different magic use. But living you just to the likes of the Protectors and Elders would be such a waste, therefore I'll also be teaching you, in secret of course. When the times comes you'll meet the rest of my loyal servants like Regulus V over there. That's all for now, of to bed and do not tell anyone you met me here tonight. We'll talk more another time."

Tom slowly nodded. He was still a little confused…OK, a lot confused. He wasn't sure he could believe that man in front of him was Salazar Slytherin, but he had to admit that Salazar's life was a secret, a black whole in the history.

"Regulus will take you beck to your room now. Good night my boy." Salazar sad in a commanding voice that ended any future discussion.

"That means all of my questions are going to stay unanswered 'till tomorrow night. Was he making sure I'll come tomorrow by not giving me chance to ask any of my questions?"

* * *

Tom didn't sleep well that night. He found it hard to go beck to dream world for long time and he was finally able to fell asleep while the last hours of the night were marching steadily and down was closing up. Even than his dreams were full of tension as was his reality before those dreams. His mind was circling in questions whit no visible answers.

* * *

Same night

Edwen heard his door opening, but he felt to sleepy to actually pay attention to it.

Silent footsteps crossed floor of his bedroom.

"Edwen…" It was Artemisa.

"Edwen are you awake?" She asked in little voice.

_"God! Having little sister is such a burner sometimes!"_

"Yeah, yeah…I'm awake" Edwen yawned. "What do you want sis?"

"I can't sleep. I'm worried about Tom…I know he…he is smart and everything" She said in soft voice. "But what if he gets hurt…or…or…what if someone caught him and is doing terrible things to him…or…"

Judging by her voice Artemisa was one step away from tears so Edwen interrupted.

"Clam down Misa. We're talking about Tom. He'll be just fine. He is probably enjoying himself exploring Court and wandering around. Tom is the brightest and the most resourceful person I ever met. I believe in him and so should you." Edwen sad in soothing voice, hugging his little sister.

"Are you sure? What if something happens to him?"

_"At lest she isn't near tears right now." _Edwen thought_._

"Listen Misa. Tom want fail on us and we shouldn't fail on him either. In 6 more days he'll get out of the Court and tell us everything that happened while he was in there. Just wait and see." Edwen gave his little sister a big warm smile and Artemisa gave him a small smile in return.

"You're right big brother. Father and mother said he will come out unscratched too… I'm going back to my room."

"Good night sis, and don't worry, Tom wouldn't want you to."

"Yes, I know…Good night Edwen."

He heard as the door slowly closed, but he didn't fell asleep immediately after she left. Truth to be told, he felt anxious about Tom too. He might have been all cheerful when he talked to Artemisa but still…

He said the truth thought. Tom wouldn't want them to lose sleep for him, he would expect them to have more faith in him.

_"Tom, I know you can do it, but I can't help but wander what are you doing now."_

And whit those thoughts he fell back in the world of dreams.

* * *

**Don't forget to review.**

**anonymous reviews accepted**


	7. The prophecy

Last chapter: Tom meet Salazar Slytherin

Author's note: newt chapter starts...NOW

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**7. The prophecy**

Tom could hear the soft knock on his door, but he felt to lazy to open his eyes, let alone to actually answer to the knocking.

"My lord...you should get up now and eat something."

He could hear a soft feminine voice from the other side of the door. But he was way to tired to notice the title he was honored with.

Yawing he opened his dark eyes and went to open the door. There, a woman in her thirties bowed to him and said in the same soft voice.

"If you don't mined, I would join you on your way towards dining-room."

"Sure." Tom's voice was a little rough from the sleep and when he thought about it he was really hungry. Sandwich was the last meal he had the morning before. While Tom had lived in odiously orphanage for years, after 5 years at Hogwarts and then years in Grey's family his tolerance to not eating for a long periods was slightly lessened.

Entering the 'fruity' hallway Tom smelled food and his stomach groaned. The second he found himself in one of dining-rooms, he slid in a closest chair.

"Enjoy." The woman sad and left him alone.

Tom smiled. The food in front of him looked so tasty and it smelled so good too. He filled his plate and just when he was about to eat the first bite Tom stopped.

_"What's wrong with me? I can't just eat this! What if it is poisoned!"_

Looking the food up and down he questioned _"How am I supposed to know if the food IS poisoned?"  
_Tom was great with potions, he really was, that is was he knew better then to rely on the smell. The poison in use could easily be without any kind of smell. Taste...there were potions that would kill him with one drop, that meant tasting food was out of question.

_"Oh, just forget it! If they wanted to kill me I'd be already dead!" _Tom thought gloomy, letting his hunger take the best of him as he dug into his meal.

Three men entered the room as he finished. He recognized all three of them as Protectors who attended that 'little meeting' last day.

Tom hoped they'll explain a few things to him about the Court, them, island itself and that odd mark that appeared on his hand. Wanting to knew all of that, he still didn't dare ask anything, so Tom waited for them to start talking first.

"If you would pleas follow us boy."

* * *

Easily memorizing every secret passageway, every hall they passed, Tom was burning with curiosity. Where were they going?

By now they went from the entrance hall into the corridor on the left side of the huge staircase. Passing bunch of secret passageways and going down millions of stairs, they were moving further underground with every passing second and if Tom's orientation was as good as he thought it was, it seemed like they were moving towards the center of the island (and Court).

Walking for what looked like hours Tom started to fell impatient. Are they ever going to arrive to were ever they were going? And when he finally had enough Tom saw a big silver double-door in front of him. The door had some symbols scratched in its mirror smooth surface. He couldn't even guess the meaning of them, but the door were showy for sure.

Half expecting to hear creaking when the door opened, Tom was surprised when it opened smoothly as they were used all the time.

After the showy double-door, the room behind would be disappointing if it wasn't for the mysterious light coming from a bowl placed on the stony jeweled pedestal. The light from the bowl was dispelling the darkness in the room just enough so tom could make out the rest of the room. It was a circle with nothing else in it. Without even asking if he could do so, Tom walked to the pedestal and looked closely at the jewelery which ornamented it. There were those symbols scratched in the stone here too, Tom wished he knew what they meant. Turning his attention towards the crystal ball, he felt it's calling him to take it in his hands, to rise it from the pedestal it was placed on. But Tom didn't respond to the urge, instead he turned towards the tree Protectors and asked in a hushed voice.

"Those symbols are words on some kind of very old or even cryptic language. What do they mean?"

"If you can't understand them on your own, we are not going to tell you."

_"And what would be the point of them telling me if I do understand? Idiots." _Tom thought venomously.

Looking back at the jewelery and symbols, deep in thoughts, he didn't know why, but he had to puzzle out what that room was all about and for some reason he had a feeling he could do it even if those fools aren't going to tell him anything.

His hand caressed the jewelery and symbols once and then it hit him. Looking closely at the symbols he could see the light reflected by the gems coloring them and making them easier to read.

Slowly, trying to control the sudden trembling of his hand. Slowly, like any sudden move would lead to the end of the world, Tom touched the gem lighting the first symbol, nothing happened.

That was discouraging, but Tom touched every gem in order they lighted the symbols, anyway.

_"Still nothing...maybe..."_ He tried pushing them next. _" Well that went nowhere too...I should thing logically about this. The pedestal has some kind of magic in it, that's for sure. I most likely won't be able to touch the crystal ball until I figure out how the pedestal works...This is the first time I thinking something like this, but I'm thinking it. STUPID MAGIC!" _and then Tom's mind clicked _"MAGIC! I'll just have to insert little of my magic into the jewelery."_

Gems started to shine in the order he touched them sending bit of his power into them. As he finished, the whole pedestal became luminous. The strong voice out of nowhere spoke:

*"Unum cum vires formidolose et tenebris est iuxta,  
Acutis, ratiocinantium animo, se regere  
Habet vitam in palmam, aut dare.  
Senior tunc spectat, minor ergo est,  
Qui esset ut refrigeraret cor eius.  
Aut corde ducat via  
Non materia si lux vel tenebris accipit."

The silence that filled the room was complete and Tom like his whole world just shifted. Like a rug had been pulled out from under him and instead of landing on the floor he was still floating, unable to right himself. Staring with a glassy eyes he tried to wrap him mind around what he just heard.

The movements behind him brought him back to the present and he turned around just in time to see the tree men giving him a deep bow.

"My Lord, we've been waiting for you."

* * *

***** The one with powers tremendous and dark is near,

Whit sharp, calculating mind, he should rule

He holds lives in his palm, he can give or take.

Older then he looks, younger then he is,

Who would take that cooled heart of his.

His heart would guide him either way,

No matter if light or dark he takes.

**Author's note: in a few chapters Tom will be on Hogwarts once again, and a lot of new characters will be introduced to you.**

**Thank you all for reading. Review, anonymous reviews are accepted.**


	8. Diagon alley

Last chapter: Tom heard the prophecy that will be the main source of his future life (more or leas).

Enjoy =)

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**8. Diagon alley**

Tree weeks had passed since Tom's first meeting with elders and Protectors and his life continued in a new, interesting and active way.

Since his second day at Court, Protectors started to train him in using sword and organized several 'classes' for him.

Since Salazar unlocked Tom's real powers, he had been training Tom to easily 'call out' his new powers as well as hide them. Now Tom was stuck learning how to control them.

The second elders found him reading a book on the staircase of entrance hall of Court, they organized tons of studies for him too.

So now he was trained by Protectors, Slytherin and 5 Lords as well as studying under different elders, Protectors, sometimes 5 Lords and Slyterin.

That way his free time was cut short and he barely had any time to spent with Edwen and Artemisa, he didn't even play chess anymore. Furthermore, he was still curious about Court but he hadn't had any time to explore it, still he had a general picture, like a map in his head. So now he knew that Court was created for more then one family (about 5 actually) but so that they would still have a complete privacy and luxury. Not counting the part for Protectors it was like 5 big fancy houses. Thought, one family would still had to be on top.

Tom sighed, as happy as he was learning new things three weeks with barely 8 hours of sleep and 4 hours a day of free time (counting meal breaks) with 12 hours of hard work were getting to him, he felt weary.

Today was finally a free day for him. Therefor this morning found him on a staircase of entrance hall reading a book (again) to pass time.

He was actually waiting for Artemisa, Edwen and Mrs. Gray. They were going to Diagon alley today.

It was hard but Tom convinced elders to let him go to Hogwarts. Edwen gets to go too (and so will Artemisa next year). For some reason he couldn't figure out, Mrs. Gray would go with Edwen a day earlier and Tom one again wondered why.

Voices outside caught his attention and hi raised his head from a book he was reading to watch the door. As expected a few seconds later the door opened and Edwen and Artemisa run in, followed slowly by their mother.

"We get to go..."

"...can you belie..."

"...going to b..."

"...awesome or what!"

Both Edwen and Artemisa were talking as loud as they could and in the same time, so Tom couldn't understand much of what they were saying, but he smiled to them nevertheless. They were something closer to family he ever had. Spending time with them made him happy, made him feel accepted.

But those empty days at orphanage and later at Hogwarts (were he was sort of happy, not knowing for better) still hunted him from time to time.

As Mrs. Gray tried to clam them down, Tom remembered...

Flash back

Late October 1932. Rain was hitting in the window glass making a loud noise. Six-years-old boy was watching the grim scene outside.

Happy children's voices and laughter could be heard somewhere behind him, but he didn't turned once towards the sound.

Boy's dark eyes seemed empty, like there was no person behind that stare, no emotions were shown on his face. It was like his mind was far from that place.

"Oh, look... If it isn't a little freak."

The voice puled Tom out of his thoughts and he turned his glassy eyes at a group of boys, all bigger and older than he was.

"What are you doing skinny monster." One of the boys asked.

"I don't think he can understand you, Ben, after all he is as stupid as it goes." The smallest of them said.

"Stupid, ha, ha, ha... he has the brain of a mentally challenged goldfish. Ha, ha, ha..." All the boys joined the laughter. Tom just stare at them.

They were bullying him again, and Tom really hoped they wouldn't pick up a fight. If they do he would ether end up all bitten or something would happen to those jerks and he would end up on detention for a month at least.

He turned his face to look through the window again.

He used to try to talk and play with other children, but every time it was for nothing. Other children would just call him names, punch him or completely ignore him. So he stopped trying.

Now he was spending all of his time reading or thinking about far away places where he would go one day. He started avoiding everyone and spending time alone.

Suddenly, Tom's head was pushed into the glass.

"Hey! We were talking to you retard!"

"Ignore them" Tom whispered softly to himself " Just ignore them." _"If I ignore them they'll go. They had to go." _He thought.

"Don't you hear us?" Someone hit him hard once again.

He turned his head beck to them again, hate flashing in his onyx eyes.

"Can't you just live me alone" His cold voice rang through the hall.

"Oh, did we piss of a little kitten?" Said one of the boys while the rest laughed.

Tom's eyes narrowed, he was really not in a mood to deal with a bunch of a huge idiots. He could feel something in him flow like blood, giving him power. He was never able to put his finger on what it was, but he didn't care, 'cause that something was a proof he was better, he was special. That was something non of those idiots could even dream about, Tom was sure of it.

He just wished they hit the opposite wall, so they wouldn't bother him anymore, they should slid in 100 small pathetic pieces.

Closing his eyes, Tom tried to put his temper under control.

"Hey! Hey! I know! We could trow him on the rain and live him there."

Tom snapped. Opening his eyes he saw the 'big and stupid' group hit the wall, their eyes wide and scared. They all run calling "Mrs. Call! !"

He just sighed. He was now going to be locked up in a broom-closet for the rest of the day and he would most likely have to clean around for a month, Mrs. Call might even beth him up.

At least the 'big and stupid' group will stay away from him for sometime or even forever...no, he was not that lucky. At least fear on their faces was priceless.

"TOM COME HERE SAME SECOND!" Mrs. Call angry voice rang through the whole orphanage.

Maybe it wasn't worth it after all. Tom trow one last glance through the window, wishing he was somewhere far far away from this place.

End of flash back

Tom shook the memory from his mind.

"Tom?" Artemisa whisper.

"You looked spaced out dear." Mrs. Gray said.

"Oh, ummm... I'm sorry you were saying?" Tom asked.

"We should live now. Come on, hurry up."

* * *

Diagon alley was an experience. This was the first time Edwen and Artemisa put their foot at any place outside the island. And Tom needed all of his control not to laugh at them, after all he was sure his face was like that when he first stepped in this alley.

They had to see everything! Tom wasn't much different. Diagon alley had changed so much that it almost looked like a totally new place to his eyes.

Tom found interesting the amount of gold and other valuable things that filled the Gray's safe in Gringotts, he was surprised they had a safe to begin with. But what surprised him even more was when Mrs. Gray required some scroll and told Tom to put little of his blood on it. The key appeared and was given to him as now his property. It was more symbolic than a real key for safe. The safe actually opened on Tom's touch thanks to the blood on the scroll. His eyes popped out on the sceen in the safe. The safe spoke of richness Tom couldn't even imagined.

His whole world was turning upside down. He was someone who spent years in the orphanage without so much as a pound, all alone in the middle of nowhere and now... Now he had some kind of family (or at leas people close to him), he wasn't alone anymore. And from the likes of his safe he could have everything he wanted.

Little did he know then, that his new life would be far from perfect and comfortable as its mask of luxury gave the impression of. Then again, he'll learn that sooner than anyone thought.

But back to they day in alley. It was great. After getting everything they needed for for school, they spent three more hours around alley, eating ice-creams and shopping for fun. Tom bought a lot of books (for a change), Edwen some cool things from Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes and an owl. Artemisa bought a baby pink Pygmy Puff and some 'girlish' stuff. Tom couldn't decide what animal he wanted so he didn't buy one at all.

By the end of the day Tom, Edwen and Artemisa were sure that was the best day ever!

But Tom only thought that because he did his best not to think of the 'buying wands' part of the day.

It wasn't a surprise that Edwen got a wand of 11 inches, willow wood and unicorn hair for core, Tom always thought Edwen would be great at transfiguration. But it was a surprise to see that the old Ollivander was still alive. Someone would thought after all those years he would be dead. But nooo... he had to live and he had to say some odd things too. Something like 'I wouldn't thought it possible, that you're still alive Mr. Riddle _(Sorry who is older? Oh, right. You!)_ and going to Hogwarts no less. 13 and 1/2 inches, yew, phoenix feather if I remember correctly _(like he doesn't always)_, I can only hope you'll use it for better things this time _(what is he talking abut?)_.

Still his disturbing words sent cold shiver down Tom's spine. The moon-like eyes staring at him with reprehensible in them gave him a feeling he was trying very hard to repress. A sinister feeling that promised endless research and headache.

No, he hadn't let it spoil his day in Diagon alley with his 'family'. But now that he was in bed thinking about the day spent with them, that memory keeps playing in his mind and ruining his previous good mood. Thinking about Edwen and Artemisa and their overwhelming happiness, he fell asleep knowing that those two would be on his side no matter what.

* * *

**Author's note: That was one ling chapter, but I have a feeling I gave it a wrong name (there wasn't much of Diagon alley in it), so if you have a better idea pleas send it to me so I can change the chapter's name.**

**Thank you all for reading. Review, anonymous reviews are accepted.**


	9. Hogwarts express

Last chapter: it was about day in Diagon alley more or less.

Now here is a new chapter. Enjoy XD

* * *

**9. Hogwarts express**

Finally he was on the train, returning to his beloved castle, well second beloved now, living in Court was fun. Besides Edven and Artemisa were like little siblings he never had. His 'family' was on that island ( except Edwen, he's already at Hogwarts). As crazy as it was calling Grays his family, that was what they were to him, that was how he imagined family back when he still thought family was important for something (meaning he was 4 or 5).

Memories ensnared Tom with a swirl of a last few years, when noise of door cracking open pushed him beck to the present.

"Excuse me, do you mind me sharing your compartment ? I can't find a free one anywhere." Said a girl turning bright red.

Tom had already seen this girl on the station, she didn't seem to know anyone there, which could only mean she was a first-year and a mudblood. Guess it can't be helped.

"I don't mind, pleas enter. My name is Riddle Tom. Would you mind telling me yours?"

"Oh, amm… I'm Emma Reynolds."

"My pleasure." Tom said in his smooth tone, smiling at her.

He watch closely as Emma closed the door behind her went next to the window setting herself across him. Her bright brown kinky hair had a fair blond gloss to it, her skin was light and soft looking, her cheeks were a slight shade of pink. Eyes were colored in varieties of brown slightly darker then her hair with a sprinkling of chestnut. Her posture was insecure. She was obliviously nibbing her lover lip. That can only mean that she is extremely shy and was feeling uncomfortable. Tom smirked, she was like an open book. Her face and body language could tell him everything about her feelings and her personality.

As same as Tom was studying her, Emma was studying him. His ghost-pale and smooth skin and coal-black hair. Her first thought about him was that he was handsome and mysterious. His dark eyes were like a glassy lake. You could clearly see the surface and only guess how deep it really was. Emma could see her reflection in his eyes like in a mirror, like there wasn't a person behind that look, and yet…and yet the darkness of his eyes was swallowing her. He had a royal posture and Emma could easily place him in one of the fairy-tales as a prince on a white hors.

They didn't talk for some time, Tom was reading Hogwart history (for 1 000 000 000 time at least), and he was surprised that Emma didn't find the hush uncomfortable . Quiet the opposite, she seemed to be out of space in her own little world, her eyes were half closed and unreadable, her face was blank except the little smile playing on the edges of her lips. In only a few minutes that he spent reading she converted from an open book to a heavily locked chest without a slight hint about what she was thinking. Even that smile on her lips was more enigmatic than answering.

Tom felt slightly irritated. He was used to know what people around him are thinking and Emma isn't going to be any different. She was going to let him into her ming he will see to it.

" So, you are a mugle born." That was a statement not a question.

Emma looked at him with that innocent eyes, her face shifting to open and 'easy to read' one again.

"Yes. How did you know?" She asked in a quiet voice.

"Lucky guess." Tom answered lightly.

She turned her eyes towards window and than beck to Tom.

"What about you?"

Tom really didn't want to answer that one. Why did he started conversation in that direction in a first place? Great, just great! How was he going to avoid that question now? Then again, she didn't seem to be kind of person who would go around babbling about it.

"Half-half."

"You must know a lot about Hogwarts then. I read all the books we'll be using this year and a few more that I bought like Hogwarts history, Greatest wizards of 21th century and Falling and raising of the Dark arts." There was excitement in her voice, it looked like she was a big bookworm. It seemed they had something in common.

"Hogwarts is protected by all kinds of spells right, I mean that was what book said. And it should be really old too. I can't wait to see it! The pictures of the castle were magnificent!"

She stopped to take a breath as Tom struggled to suppress laughter. He easily recollected his first trip to Hogwarts. He was on edge and couldn't wait to see his new school. And he wasn't disappointed, quit the opposite actually, he was shocked by the likes of castle. Pictures were far from fairly showing its beauty.

"Pictures are a mare child's draft, but you'll see that for your self soon enough."

They continued to talk about anything and everything for a long while latter and they finally stopped just in time to get out of the train. Thought they were interrupted a few times too. Once when a lady came with cart full of food. Second time when a first-year Erica Strinwringht entered the wrong compartment , she stayed for a while talking with them too. Tom's first impression was that she was clever and determent. And once more when a second-year Slytherin Terry Fudge entered. He stayed till the train arrived on the station. He was were talkative and friendly, but being a Slyterin himself Tom knew better then to give to the first impression with this one.

* * *

"First-years over here! Follow me now! Come on! First-years over here!" one large older figure called out. Tom knew that voice from somewhere and when he came close enough to make out the face, he knew exactly why that voice was so familiar. In front of the first-years was standing no-one other than a lot older Rubeus Hagrid.

* * *

**Author's note: So what do you think? Review and tell me. =)**

**I thought Hagrid would still be alive thanks to who his mother was (he'll live a few more years, at least for now)**

**Reviews mean a lot to every writer and I'm no different so pleas do not forget to live a comment. Anonymous reviews are accepted.**

And one more thing, if you put this story in your alert list you'll get an e-mail every time it's updated. 'Till the next chapter... (which might be a 2 or 3 weeks from now, sorry =( and in a case I realy don't update before)... have a nice holidays =)


	10. It's Slyterin, you wanna know why?

Last chapter: Tom met Emma a mud-blood first-year in the train for Hogwarts.

Now a chapter you kind of had to wait for =)

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**10. It's Slyterin, you wanna know why?**

"Tom! Hey Tom!" Familiar voice twitched Tom from his staring at Hagrid, and he watched as Edwen run towards him.

"Hi Ed." he smiled.

"Can you believe mum didn't let me go with her when she went to see headmaster!" Edwen made a face.

"Look at the bright side." Tom said. "Now you get to see Hogwarts in it's full glory from the lake like rest of the first-years."

"Yeah, right! That is such a bright side! Do you know how it felt like waiting a whole day in Hogsmeade? Just one hill away from castle?" pouted Edwen.

Tom could feel eyes on his back so he turned around still talking to Edwen.

"Yes, I do. Staying in Hogsmeade mush have been great so stop complaining. And one more thing. Edwen this is Rynolds Emma, Emma this is Grey Edwen." Tom finished.

"Hey." Edwen flashed a bright smile in Emma's direction.

"Um...Hi." She give him a small shy smile in return.

"Lets move or we'll have to swim over the lake." Tom said.

And the three kids went after the first-years group leaded by Hagrid's huge figure.

* * *

Little bots were slowly moving across the dark mirror lake. Gasps broke the silence as the lighted figure of castle become visible on the hill.

Hogwarts.

That was the picture that reminded Tom, more than anything, why he loved that castle so much, why he was edged to return to it.

The sound of hundred steps were ringing trough the stony Entrance Hall as the first-years entered the castle.

"Welcome, first-years. I'm Ernie Abot, and I'll be your Potion professor." A tall male figure welcomed them. " But first you'll follow me into the Great Hall, and wait for your name to be called so you can be sorted into one of fore houses, Slytherin, Gryfindor, Revenklow or Hufflepuff. More about the houses will be explained to you by heads of the houses once you are sorted in. Now pleas follow me."

The first-years entered the Great Hall some nervous, other to occupied with the likes of the room they just stepped in. Tom smirked. He already knew which house he'll end up in and didn't feel nervous one bit.

Everyone hushed and watched the old hat placed on a little chair. tom wasn't interested at all to hear the song hat would 'sing' so he watched around memorizing faces.

Loud sound of clapping broke through hall and Tom turned his attention beck to the Sorting hat.

"When I call your name you'll came hare so I can place a Sorting hat on your head. Albort, Mrey."

Little girl with long brown pony-tail came out of the first-years group.

"Hufflepuf f"

The yellow table exploded with clapping, laughing and yelling.

"Burke Belvina"

"Hufflepuf f"

"Bruke Orion"

"Gryfindor"

And this went on and on... Edwn ended up in Revenklow, just as Tom thought ha would.

"Riddle, Tom Marvolo."

Tom steped out of the group and went to sit on the chair. The second hat was placed on his head ha heard the voice.

_"Well hello Tom. I never thought we would meet again. Your head and your heart haven't changed much since the last time. But should I put you beck in Slytherin?"_

_"You know that's the house I belong to, what is the hesitation for?"_

_"You do belong there boy, you sure do... still..."_

_"Just sort me in the right house already."_

_"As you wish. But remember Tom, if anything like the last time I sorted you there happens, even with my sworn duty to never revel secrets of the students I sorted, I WILL tell what I know about you."_

"Slytherin."

Tom walked slowly towards the clapping Slytherin table deep in thoughts, this was the same kind of warning he get form Ollivander, and truth to be told he was getting worried. He needed to find out what was going on and soon.

"Reynolds, Emma."

Tom watched as the girl he met on the train went to sit on the chair. She was soooo going to be sorted with Edwen in Revenklo .

A minute passed by and she was still sitting with the hat on her head. Well that's just crazy, she is so a Revenklo type. Seconds passed slowly and just when whispering started the hat announced.

"Slytherin."

_"What? No way! She IS mud-blood! I am sure she is! What the hell is wrong with sorting hat?"_ Tom stared in disbelieve as Emma walked toward the clapping table.

"Wow. Now both of you two are is Slytherin, that's great."

Tom turned around to see Terry Fudge smiling at him.

_"Smile while you can, once you found out Emma is mud-blood that smile will fade." _Tom thought.

"Hey Terry, Tom." Emma greeted whit a big smile on her lips.

"Well what can I say. Welcome to Slytherin." He smiled once more at them before turning back to watch the rest of the sorting.

Tom on the other hand kept trowing curious glances in Emma's direction. There was just something out of order whit her being placed in a pure-blood, half-blood house. Well this is just going to make it easier for him o get to know her. At least that was what tom thought. However before that he'll have to deal whit that stupid research of his. It didn't meter, he will find the reason behind her sorting into the Sltherin and he will be able to see through her, to read her just as he can read everyone else.

* * *

**Come on people. Review. It's not so hard you know. Just write a word or to and let me know what you think.**

**Anonymous reviews accepted** .


	11. She is mudblood So what?

Last chapter: one word- sorting

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**11. "She is mud-blood." "So what?"**

Tom woke up with a smile playing on his lips. Hogwarts had changed so much for the last hundred years and yet it looked all the same.

Remembering the speech head of Slytherin, Amycus Merrythought, gave them last night, he once more wondered what will happened when students find out they have mud-blood in their house. Tom smirked. There's no way they'll keep that 'we are one for every outsider no matter what problems with each-other we have' look, thought it will be funny to see them try.

Looking around the bedroom he noticed he was the only one awake, the rest of the boys were still sleeping. If he hurries up he can finish breakfast before crowd starts to gather.

He was surprised to see that among a few people in the Great Hall was Emma, finishing her breakfast.

"Good morning little I get up in down." Tom greeted.

"Good morning to you too." Emma flashed a smile in his direction. "And I didn't get up that early."

"Yea right."

She just gave him another smile.

"Why did you get up so early anyway?" Tom asked.

"Who, me?"

"Do you see anybody else I could ask?"

"Yourself."

"Really funny Emma."

"Well if you tell me your reason I'll tell you mine." She said.

"I wanted to avoid crowd and to go to the library. Now you have to answer."

"You can be pushy, you know that. I was here sooo early for more or less the same reason. Beletrexes Woodstone said she can help me get to the library and back. But now that you are here you could show me the way and we can go to over first class together. I think it's Transfiguration with Gryfindor."

"Sure. We can sit together too. I'll just have to make myself free for classes with Revenklow."

"No problem. I'll go and tell Beletrexes I'm going with you."

Tom watched as she slowly walked towards a girl around 15 or 16 years old, before returning to his breakfast.

* * *

"How do you know so much about Hogwarts anyway? I mean most of others first-years have heard this or that but you know a hell lot from all I can see." Emma commented while their were walking.

"Oh... I just asked one of the older Slytherins to tell me how to get to a few places that's all."

"Sure" Emma didn't sounded convinced one bit, but it looked like she isn't going to press that matter any further.

Tom mentally hit himself. The years ha spent around Edwen and Artemisa are now showing their mark. He was too careless, and he needed fast return to his old self or he would make a mistake to big to be fixed.

"Well we are here."

"Wow! I'm totally in love with this place!" Emma declared. "And stop laughing at me or you'll regret it."

"How so?" Tom asked smoothly .

"You don't want to find out." she answered sweetly. "Now if you'll excuse me I have tons of books to go to."

Flashing one last smile in his direction Emma disappear behind shelves.

Tom went in his own direction searching through the history books, if it was something of such importance so that he got warnings it should be written down in history, he just had to find his name in them.

...

Nothing.

He went through the third book and still hadn't found anything. Now he had to leave to find Emma and get to their first class. If they didn't harry, they would be late as hell.

Or... he could just live without Emma and later say how he couldn't find her anywhere.

Yep, that's it. Off to the class.

* * *

"Saved you a set." Emma smiled as Tom run into the classroom.

_"What the...?"_

"And when did you get here? I spent 15 minutes looking for you!" Tom lied.

"Well, you see I was under the impression that you'll forget to look for me, so when I run in Terry I asked him to show me where the classroom is, which he did."

_"Excuse me, but where did the 'I'm so shy' girl disappeared? God! Forget that she is mud-blood, she o so IS for Slytherin!"_

Sitting himself next to her he trow her a pissed off glance.

"And you couldn't inform me that you are going with him?"

"Stop acting like you were actually looking for me. I'm sure you didn't. You seemed way to occupied whit your reading that I'm surprised you even showed up for the class."

"Miss knew-it-all." Tom mumbled.

As a professor entered she added in a hushed voice. "One more thing, Edwen was searching for you, and he left a message. He wants you to meet him at the Trophy hall after lunch."

Tom just nodded in response.

Day want on and by the end of it Tom had to admit that Emma had unbelievable magic talent as well as great intelligence and intuition.

She won't ever be able rival him, but she was good or actually, great. She was laking in something thought. She was lacking in confidence.

As for the rest of the first-years...

Lets continue with Slytherins

Laurentia Hookum - strangely kind hearted for a Slytherin girl, though she was spoiled and arrogant in the same time (or at least one of those was a mask, just which one?)

Daisy Wenlock - typical giggling girl

Idris Oakby - fun to be around and a smart girl too

Devlin Melfoy - arrogant, arrogant, rich and more aroggant

Fabius Whitehorn - tricky little devil with deep mind

Din Stump - funny, lazy as hell, has a sharp mind, thought he is rarely using it

Now Revenklows

Edwen Gray - intelligent and cool

Daniel Tomas - huge book worm

Harvey Rodford - ammm... he is in Revenklow because? he is arrogant enough to rival Melfoy

Hana Ellis - another giggling type of girl

Selena Evans - know-it-all, annoying as hell too

Erica Stainwright - clever and determent

Jenifer O'Railley - interesting and smart, has a strange way of seeing the world

Gryfindors

all - annoying as hell

Marcus Selwyn - arrogant and boring

Regulus Tripe - acts all strong and fearless, but you can scare him away with buuuu

Orion Bruke - has some brain for a change, but all in all typical Gryfindor

David Mills - ... crazy for sure

Colin Wilson - lost mud-blood

Elizabeth Singh - giggling Gryfindor girl

Alice Jenkins - same as her friend

Hufflepuff

all - kind, 'hardworking' losers (as always)

Dorea Potter

Irma Potter

Cissy Weasly

Belvina Burke

Dilan Owen

Robert Morris

* * *

As Tom entered Slytherin livingroom he spotted the rest of first-years and went towards them.

"Great, now that everyone's here I have an idea I want you to agree with." Idris said in a 'you are so gonna like this' voice.

"OK, lets here what little 'I'm so smart' has to say."

"Din shut up! Now listen everyone. I think that we should all do homeworks together, you now like every person has a subject he or she has to find books with informations for. That way we save time, and we get great marks."

"Ammm... as good as that sounds, we would still have to write the whole homework and what if the informations someone found aren't all I need." Emma countered.

"Well I thought about it too. The one who found books will be the first one to do that homework, so that someone will have a general picture of what informations are in which book. You'll have to search for only one subject not 8. That does save your time, doesn't it?"

"I guess..." Emma still sounded uncertain.

"Look even if that would save our time, I'm not sure I could trust Din to find a right book for little kids to read let alone for a great mark." Fabius said.

"What did you say? You are SO asking for my fist evil boy!"

"Stop arguing you too, same second!" Laurentia said, taking her wand. "Good. Now, anybody with a real complain?"

"No, I actually like the idea. It's going to save us around 15 minutes subject, and when you count down all subjects and homeworks that's a lot." acknowledged Tom.

"Well it's settled then, this time next week we'll have a subject we are responsible for."

"Why not now?" Daisy asked.

"Because I don't want to give Transfiguration to Devlin for example. He is terrible at it."

"Really?" Lazy tome asked.

"Yes Devlin, really. You get a point Daisy?"

"Yes, I'm not stupid."

"That has to be proved." teased Din.

Everyone laughed while Daisy tried to hit Din with a book.

"And to think everyone see us as cold and unapproachable." Fabius commented.

"Well, it is 3 verses 1 so that is the picture that keep us on top, no?"

"3 verses 1 and we are still wining." Idris said.

"Of cores we are. We are the best." Devlin added.

"True."

"So you two are half-bloods?" Devlin asked.

"I am." Tom said. "It's not like there are many pure-bloods left, why are you asking?"

"Curiosity. You Emma?"

_"Oh, no."_

"I'm muggle-born."

"You are what? You are kidding right?" Fabius asked.

"Ammm... is something wrong with it?" Emma was confused.

"You are mud-blood and you are is Slytherin?" Devlin practically yelled.

"Shhhh...be quiet Melfoy." Laurentia commended.

"Be quiet? She is mud-blood!"

"And she is also is Slytherin" Idris added in hushed voice.

"How the hell did she ended up in Slytherin if she is mud-blood?"

"Good question. But I never heard of Sorting hat being wrong, how about you?" Tom said.

"Well it looks like it's wrong now!"

"Is something wrong?" A seventh-year asked.

"Nothing" Laurentia answered little to quickly.

"Is that so? Than why are you all acting in that way?"

"What way? We are acting normal." Din smiled.

"She is mud-blood, I heard them arguing about it." An older girl said.

Fabius trow her an hateful glance.

"A mud-blood? You are kidding, right?"

The whole room was now following the conversation and Tom saw Emma blush a Gryfindor worthy red.

Whispers started to circle among students and with every passing second more and more confused and disgusted glances were shotted in Emma's direction.

"She is mud-blood?" The seventh-year repeated.

_"I'm so gonna regret this" _Tom thought before saying "So what if she is?"

"Excuse me"

"So what if she is mud-blood, she is still in Slytherin like you or me or anyone in this room, is she not?"

_"I'm so in for trouble. I'm gonna kill Edwen and Artemisa! It's all their fault that I suddenly want to help anyone!"_

"I guess you are a pure-blood." Tom watched as the older Slytherin nodded.

"Great! You can answer me something then" Tom said in a fake happy tone. "If your parents get divorced, will they still be brother and sister?"

The face of the older Slytherin went red in rage.

And Tom added calmly "I guess that means yes. Oh... you don't want to duel me."

Before he had time to finish his spell Tom already disarmed him and stunned him.

"Who else protests Emma being in Slytherin?"

Tom looked around the room to see shock on every face, this could go in his favor after all. He heard a soft 'Thank you' and turned to look at Emma, who was watching him with grateful eyes.

"Come on Emma, lets go to our room" Laurentia and Idris said in the same time.

As the girls left, Dis suggested the same and they left too.

* * *

"Why did you do it?" Devlin asked the second he stepped in the bedroom.

"Making a scene was bad business." Fabius added.

"Well I'm glad he did, it was fun" Din laughed. "And I actually like Emma, she is cool girl. I mean she looks nice, not that I know her for years, but still."

"I didn't say anything against Emma, I personally don't have any kind of problem with her. There are less pure-bloods with every passing day, getting mud-blood in Slytherin was going to happen at some point." Fabius said. "I just thought that making a scene was totally unnecessary."

"Well there wouldn't be a scene if someone didn't yelled for everyone to here that Emma is mud-blood." Tom said looking in Devlin.

"She is mud-blood! I can't believe I'm sorted with mud-blood! How is it that you don't get that?"

"Devlin if she was sorted in Slytherin as a mud-blood that means she has ability required for this house." Fabius reasoned.

"Let him be, he is probably just jealous that Emma is sorted because of ability and he because of blood." Din smiled.

"This is the first and I hope the last time I agree with you." Fabius admitted with a bored face.

"So we agree we are going to treat her like she is one of us?"

"For now."

Same time girls bedroom

"Are you OK?" Laurentia asked.

"How can you ask such question? You can see she isn't but she will be." Iris said.

"I wasn't asking you, I was asking her."

"Whatever"

"OK that was the best scene ever, it's wort every gossip." Daisy giggled.

"Can somebody explain me, why is it such a problem that I'm muggle born. I thought there are many students like me."

"There are. Just not in Slytherin." said Laurentia.

Idris jumped in to explain. "Slytherin was a pure-blood house for years, like really old magic families. You are the first mud-blood, sorry muggle born ever that's sorted in this house. Old magic families usually disliked or rather hated muggle borns, so you get a picture."

"And you are from pure-blood families more or lees. How is it that you don't hate me?"

"How do you know we don't?" Laurentia said in a serious voice. But when she sow Emma's face she started laughing so hard it took her forever to stop.

"I'm just kidding Emma." She said with a big smile. "We met you before we knew you were mud-blood, and that's how we know you are nice and fun to be around. We already liked you, before we found out you were mud-blood, and I don't know for the rest of them but I'm not changing my opinion just because of your blood."

"In other words you charmed us. And when you finally get a chance I'm sure you are going to charm everyone else too." Idris said.

"Thank you." Emma give them a shy smile.

"Well of cores we are expecting a repayment at some point." Daisy tasted.

"Come on we should go to sleep it's late." Idris announced.

"Good nigh girls."

Several good nights were heard in return before silence fell on the room.

* * *

Author's note: Tell me what you think, PLEAS. I'd like to know what's your opinion, so review. Anonymous reviews accepted.


	12. It's on!

Last chapter: The cat was out of the bag, which cat? Emma's mud-blood status of course.

**12. It's on!**

Three weeks had passed by in a twister and late September brought rainy days. Gray clouds covered the sky, not letting a single sunbeam through their thick blanket.

Tom was returning from library. Three weeks and he still hadn't found anything, three weeks of research and nothing. There wasn't any Riddle written down in history. Not even among Death Eaters. He was getting desperate.

"Hi Tom." Idris greeted.

"Emma isn't here today?"

"No" Daisy answered. "I guess she had enough of everyone trying to avoid her. It's been forever and most of the Slytherins are still acting like they are going to get sick if she is too close."

"That's to be expected."

"I must say I'm surprised she stayed so cool this long. If I was in her shoes I would have burst into tears more often than not." Laurentia said.

"You don't know how she feels. Maybe she did cry, only without audience." said Fabius.

"It's a possibility" Laurentia conceded.

"What have you been up to Tom? We hardly sow you."

"Reading."

"Reading?" Fabius questioned.

"It's easy to find Tom, you just have to look through the library, he's always there." Devlin said.

"You never go there in the first place, how do you know?" asked Din.

Devlin just shotted a cold glare in Din's direction in response.

"It looks like pissing Melfoy off became Mr. Wenlock favorite sport."

Everyone turned around to see Terry smiling at them.

"Sorry for interrupting, but did you see Emma?"

"No. But if you wish to give her a love letter... you can always live it with us." Daisy smiled.

"Are you planing to teem up with Din in torturing everyone? Strange way to show your undying love for him, no?"

Daisy mumbled something under her breath and Terry smirked.

"Keep cursing me all you want, but the truth is already out. Come to think of truths and facts Tom, you and that Revenklow kid, Edwen I think, hadn't spent much time together lately."

"Well... I was kind of stuck in the library and Edwen was spending time with his Revenklow friends. Besides we DO spend every weekend together. And I'm going, I need to go to the library before class. Bye!"

"What's up with him?" Davlin asked.

He didn't get a single answer.

* * *

Tom walked through hallways deep in thoughts when he almost run into someone.

"Watch where you're going Riddle!"

Tom blinked. _"Huh...what...gh, Gryfindoor"_

"Get out of my way scared-cat." Tom said smoothly.

"How did you call me?"

"A scared-cat. You don't like it? But it fits you perfectly Tripe." Tom tried to sound disappointed.

"Who tells me a worm without character."

Tom just started walking pass him.

"Oh, so you are just going to run away? You Slytherins are just bunch of overly arrogant ice figures without spine, whit out any real magic talent."

_"OK, that does it! I've been ignoring him for some time now, he is going down." _Tom turned to face Tripe once again, his eyes flashing whit 'I'm gonna destroy you' light in them.

"You are acting pretty brave for someone not surrounded by his little friends. This is how it's gonna be. You, me, 'till one goes down. Tonight we are going to sneak out and go to Forbidden forest, the one who stays longer in the forest wins, or are you to scared to even try?"

"You are challenging me with something braver would win? Are you stupid?"

"So it's on?"

"It's on." Tripe smirked.

* * *

At dinner that same night Tom told the rest of the group his plan.

"Thought, I agree it would be fun, there are million things that could go wrong to turn it into a nightmare." Fabius said.

"Why don't you just tell professors you heard some students talking about going to forest tonight?" Idris asked.

"'Cause that's the oldest trick in the book, thought Tripe, being a Gryfindor, would fell for it, your idea would make him want revenge. My plan on the other hand would scare him to death and destroy his over-sized Gryfindor ego."

Chuckles and nods passed through group.

"Cunt us in." Din smiled.

"Emma you seem to be the only one against this idea."

"Someone could get hurt. I'm a muggle-born and I know Forbidden forest is dangerous, and FORBIDDEN for a reason. Not to mention we would be braking a few school rules."

"Are we sure she is a Slytherin? Forget her blood status, but 'how can you brake school rules' was to much" Din acted really hurt.

Tom just clapped Din's head before turning to Emma.

"Rules are there to be broken Emma, only idiots follow them."

"And I would agree with you, IF you were about to go to get a book from Restricted Section, but going to the forest is D-A-N-G-E-R-O-U-S!"

"Suit yourself." Tome gave up.

"That's not like you... What are you up to?" Emma became suspicious same second.

"Noting." Tom shrugged. "I'm just not going to argue with you about it anymore."

"What ever idea you are turning around in that brain of yours isn't going to work. You know that, right?"

"Sure" Tom smiled.

Emma trow him one more suspicious glance before letting the subject drop.

* * *

Later that night find Tom waiting for Tripe whit the rest of the group hidden in the forest. They left while Tom was in the library returning some books and they didn't get out to greet him when he arrived. He didn't blame them, 'cause he could clearly see dark shape nearing Forbidden forest.

"Well, well, well you actually showed up. I thought you would chicken out by now."

"Shut up Riddle. Let finish this, I can't wait to humiliate you."

"On your mark Tripe."

They both stepped into a dark forest and started walking deeper and deeper with every move they made. It was getting darker by every passing second and soon, they weren't able to see the rear stars form crowns, moon was unsuccessfully trying to light the dark forest, and they couldn't see more then a foot around them.

"Did you here that?" Tom suddenly asked in a hushed voice.

"Scared already Riddle?" Tripe tasted but the loud crack behind them stopped him for saying anything more.

"There it was again. I think it's getting closer."

"Oh pleas that was just a rabbit or something." Tripe tried to sound relaxed, mocking.

"A rabbit this deep in FORBIDDEN forest? Lucky you for your brain." Tom whispered sarcastically. "We should move."

Just as Tom finished his statement another creepy sound came to them. The dark surrounding them was giving them thrills.

"Right, lets move" Tripe was obviously trying were hard to stay clam.

The number of sound around them was slowly increasing and Tripe looked paler by the second. Then suddenly all noises stopped. The silence that fell on them was terrifying.

The only sound that could be heard were their breaths. Tom had a feeling his every nerve was on fire, he didn't know why but he no longer felt safe, he had a feeling someone or something was watching them and those eyes didn't belong to any of his friends.

The wind blow through trees raising leaves and cold chills went down Tom's spine. He was watching the darkness in front of them while his whole body was screaming for him to run in the opposite direction as fast as he could.

His ears picked the noise of sharp breath taking but he didn't turn. Darkness was forcing his attention to stay on the same invisible spot.

He took a step back just as he heard the sound of braking branch. Quickly glancing in Tripe's direction, he sow that boy's face was death white if not even paler.

Something moved in front of them, Tom didn't know how he knew that, he didn't hear or see anything, but he just knew. And it seemed like Tripe knew too as he turned around and started running in the opposite direction as fast as he could.

Tom took his wand out and lighted it's top. He could see further now, he could see the place he thought someone was watching him from, but it was empty. Only more trees and than darkness again.

But the feeling didn't go. Something was still out there just out of Tom's reach.

"Come on guys it's not funny any more."

Nothing. Silence.

"Din? Devlin?... Fabius?... Idris? ... Anybody?"

Tom was starting to panic. He might had been an old fifth-year student at Hogwarts once, but that didn't change much. Who knows how many new things now exist in magic world.

Picking up the noise behind him he turned around whit his wand ready, just to light the faces of his friends.

"Where were you?" Tom asked.

"Idris fell and in the darkness it was kind of hard to find her. You and Tripe moved to fast and we weren't sure where to go 'till we saw light coming from here."

"Are hurt Idris?"

"Just a scratch, don't worry." She gave him small smile.

"Pity we didn't see Tripe's face I bet it was priceless." Devlin commented.

" And guess who decided to came whit us after all?" Before waiting for the answer, Din continued. " Emma!"

"I can see her idiot, stop yelling, something can here us."

Din started laughing "We were really good if we successfully scared you too, even thought you knew we were there."

"You didn't scare me idiot. I did heard something that I thought was you, but now whit your story I don't know what it was."

"Maybe that?" A high pinched voice said.

Everyone turned to see at what Daisy was pointing at. And sure enough, right there two big yellow eyes were shining in their direction from the darkness getting closer with their every breath.

"Any bright ideas now Tom?" Emma asked unsuccessfully trying to sound sarcastic.

Tom casted spells in the direction of the beast 'till one hit its target. A wild groan froze the blood in their veins. It was clear that the spell wouldn't hold for long.

"New plan, run as fast as you can." Tom said.

And he didn't have to say twice. Everyone started running like their lives depended on it, but not knowing what they were facing maybe that was true.

Once they were on clean again, they all fell on the ground trying to get some air to their lungs.

"Let's go in Forbidden forest it's gonna be fun! Hell Tom, I knew it! We could have died in there! I told you it was forbidden for a good reason! But no, don't you listen to me! Why would you anyway? You almost got us killed in there! Now every-single-time you have another so-called brilliant idea I'm going to remind you of this one and easily make you shut the hell up!" Emma started renting and raving the second she had enough air in her lungs.

"Will you just shut up? How was I supposed to know there will be something dangerous so close to the end of the forest?" Tom asked.

"Huh really how? So you decided to risk our lives to see?"

"Emma clam down, someone would hear us." Fabius instructed.

"Shut up" Emma snapped. "How can you be on his side in this?"

Fabius sighed. "Look we all agree to come on our free wish, so Tom wasn't the only one to blame, we all are."

"I hate when you make sense, but Tom is still to blame the most. Still... " She turned towards Tom and muttered. "Sorry for my outburst I shouldn't have yelled at you like that even thought you totally did deserve it for coming up whit an idea like this"

"Forget it, lets just go back to the castle."

"I can't wait to get to my sweet, soft, warm bed." Din mumbled.

No-one could argue with that, truth to be told they all felt same way.

* * *

Author's note: Thanks for reading this story. Tell me what you think about this chapter and blah, blah, blah (You already know the rest)


	13. Tom Marvolo Riddle

Last chapter: They tried to scare a Gryfindor and ended in trouble in the same process.

**13. Tom Marvolo Riddle**

"We trained enough, let's stop." Edwen suggested.

Tom trow his sword away and picked up his backpack.

"I'm leaving them."

"Going back to library?"

"No. I'm studying those books elders left me."

"So you are staying here for Christmas after all." Edwen said in a sad voice.

"Yes. Well I have things to do. And I don't really understand why you are going, you have to see Hogwarts during the holiday."

"Guess I miss Artemisa... and mum and dad too."

"You'll get used to it." Tom smiled as he exited the room.

He didn't even entered a secret passageway across the door when he heard his name being called. Turning around he saw a worried curly hared girl approaching.

As she did she trow a fast puzzling glance at the door he just exited before turning back to face him.

"What was that you were searching for all this time in the library?" Emma asked.

"It's not any of your business. So why do you care?"

"I..." She took a deep breath. " I found something you might find interesting."

"And what would that be?" Tom asked coldly.

"Edwen once slipped your parents died and that you were living whit them since you were 5. And... it can't be your father, there are to many years separating you two..."

"Cut the chase Emma" Tom interrupted, his heart beating faster. It couldn't be possible, could it? Had Emma found what he had been searching for all this time?

"Have you ever wondered what Voldemort's real name was?"

"What does he have to do with anything?"

Tom watched as Emma walked pass him and placed herself on a windowsills.

"Dark Lords real name was... like yours, Tom Marvolo Riddle. He was going to Hogwarts around 90 years ago and was one of the best students Hogwarts ever had."

After a few seconds of shock, during which time his brain was trying to process the information, Tom went to sit next to Emma.

"How did you find out about that?"

Emma gave him a worried look before answering in a hushed voice.

"Well whit half of school hating me I was spending most of my time reading and at some point of it I started reading about different powerful wizards, Voldemort being one of them. I was fascinated how little was know about one of the most powerful wizards (and the most powerful dark wizard for sure). He lived in period between 1950-1998, or actually he was an active dark wizard at that time. Logically there should be more. So I decided to start a research about him. For a long time I couldn't find much, there wasn't a single book that held informations about his childhood or early ages between its covers. Then I run in a person who I thought could tell me everything. I was reading near the lake when I saw Harry Potter (who was visiting some friends here), and I successfully got a few informations out of him."

"So the chosen one told you Voldemort's real name."

"Yes. He told me a few other things too, but all in all even he didn't know much."

Emma closely watched her friends face, but it had a blank mask on it and only a slight, barely visible look in his eyes told her that he was spaced out, deep in his own thoughts. She wandered what was going trough his mind.

There was a flash of anger in those dark orbs but it disappeared so quickly she wasn't sure if it was ever really there. Emma didn't know why but she felt she should hug him, let him know she was there for him. She put her arm around her friend and without saying a word stayed there and waited for him to work it all out in his head.

Tom didn't move, he didn't see anything around him. It was only a little part of his consciousness that noticed Emma was still there next to him. The rest of his mind was far away from that moment, the rest of him mind was in the past. The same past that lead him to this. This place, this time.

He thought about the spell he created, about fake self he left behind. He started getting angry again.

It was that fake self, a complete idiot, that put him in this position now. This has to stay a secret, no-one could know about it. No-one.

He slowly looked up at Emma. Her face held worried expression.

"Does anybody else knows about this?"

"No. I didn't tell anyone... and I wouldn't. You stood up for me beck then, I'm not betraying you."

He knew he could believe her, but he didn't want anybody to know about this. Raising his wand he pointed at her head. He saw Emma's eyes wide in surprise, but she didn't made a noise or move for that matter.

Tom didn't want to do this, it felt like letting her down. She was one of rare people who had chosen to trust him at their own free will.

No. He can't think that way. He had to delete her memories. He had to! He couldn't let her walk away with informations like that.

Looking at her eyes he couldn't see fear, betrayal or even anger, no he saw intelligent eyes that look right into his soul, if he had one. Eyes that read his mind like no-one ever had.

It all scared him. It only made him wan't her to forget everything even more and in the same time his whole being wanted to see what would happen if he just let her go with that unrealistic power of understanding him. He always wanted to have someone like that around. He wanted someone who knew him, whole him. Someone who could understand him, and this eleven-years old girl fitted in perfectly. He needed someone like her around.

"Who'd say you can't make a decisions." A soft voice spoke up.

How the hell can an eleven-years old girl be so perceptive?

"You know" she continued "even if you do delete or change my memories or whatever else you were planing to do, keep in mind that at some point of time I am going to cross paths with Voldemort's biography again, and we are going to be in this same position...or.. you can trust me. The choice is up to you."

Tom blinked. Her logic sounded both stupid and reasonable. Her cold eyes were freaking him out. Was he like that too? Was that what make him attached to her? Is it only a different life story what made them and their look on the world different?

Tom slowly put his wand down. He watched in shock as she smiled at him and stood up. Is she crazy or something?

"Well it looks like you are better now, so I'm off. I have to find presents for all. After everything I got for my birthday, finding cool things is gonna give me a headache. Come to think of it your birthday is soon after Christmas. I need to find two presents for you! Oh, great!"

She walked away mumbling something about troublesome holidays, and Tom watched her 'till she turned a corner.

He felt lost. After what happened a few seconds ago, how the bloody hell can she just walk away worrying about something as trivial as presents?

As crazy as it looks she looks at times, Tom had to admit that he envy her on that attitude.

* * *

Author's note: Thank you all for reading and you know the rest.

I might not be able to update next week so don't worry in a case a new chapter doesn't show up.


	14. Happy birthday

Last chapter: Emma told Tom about Voldemort's real name

**14. Happy birthday**

Late cold night, just few hours before a new day, a new year begins.

Tom was sitting alone in Slytherin boys dormitory. All of his friends went home for the holidays, and he spent days on his own studying million different things. They had all sent him presents, but his mind was to occupied whit other stuff to actually enjoy any of it. Thought the smile that had crossed his face when he saw all the things he got was real and open, it didn't last long.

He was puzzled whit tons of things, but the one that stood out the most was a feeling of being followed, the feeling of being watched. He was having dreams of that night in the forest, his subconscious was trying to make his conscious see something important, but he wasn't sure what. After that night, the feeling that two big yellow eyes didn't belong to a thing that was hidden in the darkness wasn't leaving him. And as the time passed that feeling only became stronger. Tom knew better than not to believe his instincts. But what was hidden there, he didn't know.

Tom sighed. His life was becoming more and more complicated.

First that prophecy and Salazar Slytherin and court... and whole island.

Next, idiotic self he left behind. Idiotic self that had to become Dark Lord of all things.

And now the feeling of someone following him. Plus all the studies, training, homeworks...

He was going to explode at some point.

If only Edwen or Artemisa were here... or any first-year Slytherin. He needed something or rather someone that could make him forget all the things that are happening right now, just for an hour or so. Was that too much to ask for?

It looked like answer was positive. It was too much.

After all, it was his birthday today and he was alone. His 'friends' weren't there. It was like that sicking past allover again. Like he had no friend, like he was back to 1937/1938. But he can't really cunt them as friends to begin with. He had to many secrets, and thought he didn't know much about bonds and connections between people, he was sure that lying to them wasn't how you treat friends.

He wondered at time like this, what would happened if they ever find out his secrets. Would they still thing of him as a good friend? Would they feel betrayed or scared?

Tom had to admit he didn't know.

As easy as he could read people, the way that little group of so coled friends felt about him was a mystery. Before them Tom knew what different persons wanted from him. His power or knowledge, his lead or all of it.

But whit them he didn't know.

Did that mean that they really are his friends? Did they really feel connection? Or were they just trying to use him like everyone else?

Tom didn't know the answer to that, but it sure looked like those questions are going to play a big part in his mental brake down.

Mind going in circles. Trying to figure nothing and everything out Tom finally felt asleep just hour or so before midnight.

He was dreaming a restless dream when hushed sound of the door opening woke him up.

Looking at clock that was placed on his bedside table he saw that in only 5 minutes before the Hogwarts clock would rung to inform everyone it was midnight.

Who was entering so late at night?

Fully alarmed Tom watched as the door closed, leaving the room in darkness.

Soft footprints were closing up to him and Tom placed himself in a sitting position his wand ready.

"So you are awake after all."

That voice sounded familiar.

"Emma?" Tom asked in insecure voice.

A dark silhouette moved by the window and hugged a completely confused Tom.

"Happy birthday." A big smile flashed in the darkness.

"Am..Th..thanks." he was still trying figure out what exactly was going on.

"Here. Open it. I can't wait to see your face." There was excitement in Emma's voice and Tom took a neatly wrapped something from her hands.

Judging by the weight of it, it was a book or something.

Tom slowly unwrapped the present and was socked by what he saw.

It was a book. Or actually a notebook with hard leather sheaths. Tom opened it and saw many different picture and drawings, many quotes and wishes for his future. It was obvious that it took Emma a lot of time and hard work do make this thing. But it was magical. It showed more than any other gift would, that she considered him as an important person in her life. It was... magnificent feeling to know that someone cares for you so much... no, it was more than magnificent, but Tom couldn't find words to describe it.

He just set there speechless, staring at the book.

"Well? Do you like it?" Emma sounded nervous.

Tom looked up at her.

"I love it. It's the best gift ever."

She smiled in relief.

The loud sound of bell rung through the castle, reminding them it was late. Midnight. A new year started.

Tom smiled back at her but a growing gilt was wrapping his heart. He was as far from honest as he could be, and yet he wanted her pure friendship without reveling anything of his real self.

Well he just had to learn to live whit that gilt and at some point it will disappear.

* * *

Author's note: I know this chapter wasn't one of my bests but I felt that it would be better to post a good chapter, then make you wait for a little better than good chapter.

As usual thanks for reading, you can leave comments if you want

And I'm still have tons of tests every week so there might not be a new chapter next week


	15. Secret written in years

Last chapter: was Tom's birthday

**15. Secret written in years**

Hot, sunny days were taunting students to come out of the castle and enjoy the beautiful start of the summer. Unfortunately they were to busy, their exams just started a week ago after all and they were all working hard to remember every spell, and all those names and years.

Well some of them were working hard anyway.

"I can't wait for this exams to be over." Daisy sighed closing the book.

"Cheer up." Idris said. " We finished most of them."

"You are missing the point! Look outside! It's sunny, without a single cloud! And we are stuck indoor! In library no less!"

"Well thanks to our studying method, I think we could take a rest for one afternoon." Emma smiled.

"I could use an hour or two or rest too." Laurentia said.

"Uh... OK" Idris agreed. "I guess we could all use a little bit of study-free time. I can go and see if boys want to join us and you could go to the kitchen and take something like... you know food and drinks, like little picnic."

"Sure. We'll wait for you and boys by the lake then."

Entering Slytherin common room, Idris quickly spotted her friend and walked towards them.

"You wanna join me and the rest of the girls for a little rest by the lake?" She asked.

"Sure! I can't study anymore anyway. My head feels like exploding." Din grinned before adding melodramatically. " We were stuck indoor for ages!"

Devlin and Fabius rolled their eyes. Live it to Din to be over-dramatic all the time.

"Tom is in the dormitory, I'll go and see if he wants to join us too." Fabius announced in a bored tone.

"See you by the lake then." Devlin waived.

* * *

Fabius entered the room and lazily casted a look around it. Tom wasn't there.

_"Huh... How annoying, now I'll have to look for him. Or maybe he'll just show up by the lake all by himself like he usually do."_

He was about to exit the room when he noticed a little sober green book that he sow Tom write in all the time was laying on a bed. He watched it for a few seconds as if he expected the book to start dancing or something. Then his curiosity took over and he crossed the room in a few fast steps. Carefully taking the book in his hands, he caressed the covers and then leafed through the pages. Turning the first page, he looked at the date.

**_December, 5th 1940._**

He blinked but the date stayed.

Looking closely Fabius could tell that the handwriting definitely belonged to Tom. Going through the pages he saw some _to far away_ and other _close by_ dates. The firs date being from 1933 and the last one from 2034. One of all those dates caught his eyes.

It seemed to be the last page from _to far away_ past, 'cause next page was written in 2027. This page however was written in 1942.

_**"**_**I finally finished it!**

**After months of trouble and hard work, I finally succeeded.**

**I completed the spell and now I can..."**

The noise of steps coming from the other side of the door made Fabius stop in the middle of the sentence. He listened carefully, it looked like the steps were coming closer. Quickly returning the book on the bed, he turned toward the door just in time to see it open reveling no-one other then Tom himself.

_"Talking about the close call."_ Fabius thought wishing he had had a minute or so more to finish the page.

He saw Tom was about to say something, so he interrupted him in a bit high voice.

"I've been looking for you. We are going to spent the afternoon next to the lake resting. Are you joining us?"

Tom trow a curious glance at him before answering. "By us you mean the rest of the gang?"

As Fabius nodded, he continued: "Yeah, why not. I could use some rest."

They walked in silence, lost in their own thoughts. Fabius just didn't know what to make of what he saw just a couple of minutes ago. He wondered if he should ask Tom about it or even tell someone, but for some reason it seemed like a wrong thing to do. Therefor he just continued walking in silence next to the dark-haired boy, that held all the answers he was searching for.

"Hey you two!" Laurentia greeted.

"Took you long enough." Delvin drawled.

Emma and Idris greeted them in the same time one loud "Hi!" then started laughing.

"Could you shut up, I'm trying to relax here!" Daisy sang.

"Oh, are you now? Did you all hear that? Our little princess is trying to relax. How can you be so malicious and not let her?" Din teased.

"Excuse me? You are so gonna it those words!"

Little group laughed and soon they all forgot about all the little (or big) problems they had. Not one of them noticed a shadow that was watching them hidden in the forest. But they will all sooner or later be aware of the growing danger that came together whit Tom as their friend.

* * *

Author's note: Not really my chapter finishing stile, but couldn't come up whit another one. Thank you all for reading. I hope you enjoy reading as much as I do writing it.


	16. Stranger

Last chapter: Fabius trow a look in Tom's diary

* * *

**16. Stranger**

Sun was high in the sky and it's rays were falling on empty Hogwarts.

Midday.

Sky was with out clouds, but there wasn't a single student enjoying the day outside. On the other hand, red train, which was quickly going towards London, was full of kids and teenagers who were returning home.

Edwen was watching the dark-hared boy across him. Tom was looking trough the window with cold calculating eyes and otherwise blank expression.

They talked a bit at first, but then his Slytherin friends came and stayed for one or two hours, during which time Tom started first listening, then ignoring the whole conversation. They left a while ago and Tom still hadn't said a word.

Edwen frowned. He loved his adopted brother, but he had to admit that lately something was just off about him. He felt like Tom become distant to him. Maybe it was because of school and new friends they both made at Hogwarts. They just didn't have enough time to spent together and Edwen was worrying for nothing. No, he didn't really believe in that.

He had a feeling that his growing up was a main factor. Now he was able to see some things that were easily escaping him when he was younger. Now he noticed a part of the boy sitting across him that was manipulative and cold. A part of him that had secrets, that was rarely honest, a part of him that Edwen didn't know.

That part of Tom was growing. Growing by eating the warm part of him that Edwen knew, the part of Tom that Edwen felt connected to.

Looking at the pale face Edwen thought sadly _"I don't know you anymore Tom. Actually, I'm starting to question if I ever knew you. You seem so far away. Are you the person I thought I knew all those years ago or was it just a mask you placed over your dark self? ... I want to know you... I want to know the person I looked up to... You promised Artemisa and me that you'll tell us the truth about yourself once you are free from the diary and you never did that, nor are you ever planing to... Am I right Tom? Are you hoping we forgot? ... No... The real question is should I even ask you anything...or should I just let it all go... Should I forget and forgive? Should I act like I didn't noticed anything? I can't do that... I can't act like you... were you... no... I... I'm not sure I want to... Do I?... I don't know... I don't know if I want to know the truth anymore... But I have to right? It might be better if I ask than if I find it by accident... I remember you once told me that we see in other people only what we carry inside ourselves. You said it was impossible to really know somebody no matter how hard you try 'cause you'll always see what you are or what you are looking for. At that time I didn't know what you were saying, but.. I think I do now. Artemisa and I were just two little kids when we first met you, we were naive and thought that the all world was like us too. We saw the best in everything, for us the only bed thing were the evil sorcerer and witches from the fairy-tales, and those were always bad, ugly and scary. You were non of it. You were kind, funny, charming. And you were the worst... Now I see that cold side of you, because by now I did some cold things myself. Now I see the manipulative part of you 'cause I manipulated too. Now I see all the secrets you are holding in yourself, I have a lot of secrets as well. Looking at you right now I see a lot darker person than I am, but still someone similar to me. Secrets... You know mine, and there are just few. Secrets... I don't know anything about you, not one of your secrets, and there are many... sure there is one you can share with me..."_

Building up his courage Edwen finally asked for attention "Tom?"

"Hmm..?" Tom questioned without even turning to look at Edwen.

"You know, you never really told me how you ended up in the diary or where did you live before you were trapped in it."

He saw a flash of something in those onyx eyes before Tom turned to face him. "And why is that so important?"

"I was just thinking random things when I remembered that you promised Artemisa and me that you'll tell us more about the spell and diary and yourself once you are free, and it never really happened."

Tom watched him whit spaced-out eyes for a few moments before answering "If I recall correctly what I promised was to show you and Misa was how I created a spell which (in missing of better words) trapped me in the diary and I promised to take you two to the Hogwarts once you turn 11. Here you are, returning from the castle and Artemisa will come with us to Hogwarts next year too. And for the other promise... You are still to young to understand even if I tell you. So the other promise will have to wait. Anything else?"

His cold eyes were burning Edwen's courage, and soon it will disappear completely. So Edwen decided to use the last of it to say what has been bothering him for ages.

"You are keeping so many secrets Tom, i feel like I don't know you."

An emotion flashed too fast for Edwen to capture what emotion it was and Tom faced window again.

They continued their journey in silence, thought Edwen could swear he heard Tom mumble something like 'I never said I'll tell you my secrets' and a few other words he couldn't make out.

* * *

Author's note: Ha! I'm back! Finally I had enough time for a better chapter then a last two or three were. So what do you think?

As usual thanks everyone for reading ^.^

(Oh and just so you know I'm planing on getting evil when it comes to reviews, I mean I'm still thinking if I should or shouldn't do this something, but it works for others so I don't see why it wouldn't work with for me too.)

**I know I'm only posting this information one day before the update but this Friday, sorry =(**


	17. The growing distance

Last chapter: Edwen and Tom had a little arguing mach.

**17. The growing distance**

Two weeks had passed since their return to the island. Tom was getting irritated. Edwen had been avoiding him since their 'talk' on the train, but he won't be doing it anymore. Tom was going to corner him today and have a little eye to eye conversation with his adopted brother. He had to find out what was wrong before Artemisa finds out about their little quarrel.

OK, he knew what was wrong, but he had to do something to get himself out of this mess without telling Edwen anything. Why is that blond-headed trying to stick his nose where it didn't belong anyway?

He saw his little brother and called out. "Edwen!"

Nothing. Like he didn't hear anything Edwen just continued walking.

"Edwen!"

_"Oh, no! I won't let you get away that easily!"_

Tom run and caught up to Edwen before puling him in the next hallway.

"Will you stop pretending that you didn't hear me when I called you?" Tom yelled and then closed his eyes taking a deep breath and trying to clam down.

"I heard you. i just didn't feel I have a reason to stop and talk to you. After all , I have nothing to say to you _brother._"

The icy and harsh tone and the way Edwen stressed the last word, cut trough Tom like nothing ever did before. His onyx eyes opened wide as he looked at Edwen's cold silver ones. He slowly took a step away asking in a whisper:

"Why?... Why do you..." He couldn't finish the question, he just couldn't make himself talk. He felt like he was wounded, but he couldn't tell where exactly did it hurt.

"Why?" Edwen repeated. "You ask why... You... You act like a first classed psycho and then you ask why! Well let me enlighten you!" Edwen exploded. "That's why! You can't keep secrets and expect everyone to open all of their cards and to unconditionally trust you! Manipulating isn't how you treat someone close to you! But no, you don't understand, do you? You have to control everything! You have to manipulate everyone! Everything has to be your way! At some point you are going to wake up from your little dream-world, but then it will be to late. You are going to be on your own, with no-one by your side, with no-one to help you. You are going to be as empty as a see shell with only useless power to try and fill your empty heart. Even now I can see in your eyes that you don't get a word of what I'm saying. You think betraying everyone for getting your way is going to make you happy? It won't! Wake up! People are born to live together, to build their future together, to pass the knowledge from one generation to another. People are not born to be on their own, they need to live in societies. Everyone needs another soul to share happiness and sadness with. Even you. and you better figure that out before it's to late. You lost me, I wonder who are you going to lose next... You told me once that being all alone in the world feels like you are in the space surrounded by overwhelming darkness. Darkness that's eating you, making you a part of it's limitless terror. I really can't believe you want to go back to being lonely. but what do I know, maybe that darkness fits you... Actually, when I think about your personality, it fits you perfectly. You are like a king of blackness. Therefor you deserve to be alone, with no friends, with no family, with nobody there. You deserve all the loneliness of this world. I can't wait for your Slytherin 'friends' to figure that out." and with that Edwen walked in the next hallway without even trowing a last glance in Tom's direction.

Tom just continued to stare after him. His words made to many bleeding wounds to even count, but the feeling of hurt was slowly being replaced by the overwhelming anger. Tom's mind was being colored in more and more red with his every step. Red was all he saw.

When he entered the Court he went to his room and started trowing anything and everything that got in his hand.

_"What the hell does that kid thinks he knows? Who the hell does he thinks he is?"_

After almost an hour of ranting and raving around his room, when there were no more things left to destroy Tom fell on his bed taking deep breaths.

He didn't need anyone, and Edwen was so dam wrong if he really thinks power wasn't enough to satisfy Tom. Hell! He was going to have everything! He wasn't one of those pathetic monkeys who needed friends. He was charming, powerful and intelligent or better to say he was brilliant in every possible way. He could do whatever he wanted to and he was going to make Edwen regret those words.

_"King of blackness. Oh, I'll show him that king, maybe that will teach him a little lesson."_

* * *

Author's note: First, I'm sorry I didn't post an update last Friday. I was 'computerless'.

Second, I know this chapter isn't as long as it should be, but my time for writing cut short because this week was a school final week, and you know how that looks (to lazy to even breath).

And last thing to say, thank you all for reading story so far, I hope you'll live a comment.

**Important:**** during the summer holiday I might not be able to post a new chapter every week **(thought I hope I would be able to post it at least once a month)**, however no matter if I post 15 chapter during the summer or I don't post a single one** (which hopefully won't be the case), **I'll continue a normal course of updating once a new school year begins (meaning - beginning of September) **


	18. Conflict with myself

Last chapter: Edwen broth his fight with Tom to a new level

**18. Conflict with myself **

"Tom."

_"It's August already and I am still not over it. Why?"_

"Tom concentrate!"

_"No, I AM over it, I command myself to be over it. Then again..." _Loud sigh.

"TOM!"

_"Who am I kidding. What Edwen said was true to some level, not completely but..."_

Tom flied backwards hitting a wall.

"Are you even listening to me? I'm not here so you could spent your time spacing out!" Angry voice said.

Looking up, Tom saw a totally pissed off face of Salazar Slythering.

"May I remind you that I here risk a lot of things in order to train you. You should know by now that population of this island doesn't really like me, therefor I will not accept your lack of concentration. Is that clear?"

Tom just nodded his head quietly in agreement. If it was up to him he wouldn't even be there right now, but he didn't have much choice. However, once he becomes powerful enough he will have all the choices of the world. So for now he wan't argue. For now.

"Great. Now that I have your full attention lets continue our lesson..."

* * *

Later that day found Tom once again in conflict with himself.

At first his quarrel with Edwen wasn't something he thought twice about. But a few days after it, his subconscious started creating nightmares, that soon started invading his awake hours too. Now, he was having constant fight with himself. His cold part and soft spot were in a war.

One part of him didn't want or need anybody and had those dreams and cold past to prove that relaying on anybody is what weak and stupid do. The other part was scared of those lonely days and those cold dreams, and it used those dreams to prove that even he needed someone and it also used a resent memories to prove that he was happier surrounded by friends. For now neither side was winning.

_"I can't think about it now, I need to concentrate." _Tom thought trying unsuccessfully to read a book in-front of him with understanding.

_"It's no use. I'm to tired. I hadn't slept a full night sleep for days. Maybe I should tell Edwen what he wants to know. No. I can't do that. Besides I don't need Edwen or anybody else for that matter. But I wan't those dreams to stop, I don't wan't to be back to that lonely darkness again. In that darkness no-one was trying to manipulate me at least, there I was the one manipulating everyone. But I love the way it feels to smile for real, to smile from heart. Huh, then again, why would I need that empty sound? The way power flows trough veins is a way better feeling. Is it not? Maybe... yes, I guess it is... no wait, maybe not...No, stop! Stop! Stop! Stop! I don't want to think about it anymore! I'm fine as it is!" _Sigh. _"Ok, I miss a few things but otherwise I'm fine. That few things would be Edwen, and not having the feeling of guilt eating me and... Guilt... I never had that one before... Way would I feel guilty? __It was just another useless word. Word that didn't have any meaning to me. Just like friends. What does word friends really mean? I wonder... maybe I'll found out if I try to make friends, real friends. Wouldn't that be nice... wouldn't be nice to forget the meaning of the word guilt. Yes, it would. Why are those two words connected... Do they really have to be connected?... No. If I wan't to tell the truth they don't...but I can't tell it. If I do no-one will want to be my friend. I wish I have one. One real friend... someone I could tell everything...yeah, and than that somebody betrays you... trusting people means giving them weapons that can easily hurt you... I don't want to be injured... no, I don't want to... but maybe, just maybe, when that special somebody knows what hurts, than he will protect you... I don't need to be protected, having power will protect me... I can't make people love me, but I can make them fear me...yeah, that's right, it is something I can get for sure and with ease... than, it's said the harder to get, the richer the prize... meaning friendship is more worth than power, after all it is harder to get..." _Tom's thoughts continued contradicting one another, 'till he felt asleep and then the nightmares started to torture him again.

_"Cold._

_It's cold._

_The sound of strong wind reached little ears hidden behind a thin blanket. A light flashed outside and the little body started shivering from fear. Shadows were playing around the room with every thunder and the following sound belonged to the monsters that were hiding in the dark corners of the room._

_Monsters wanted to eat him, he knew that. The salty water with rare pieces of potato and tomato weren't enough for those monsters, they wanted to eat Tom._

_Lighting once again flashed across the room and Tom squawk. He was scared. His little hands strengthen their grip on the old blanket. Another flash of lighting and loud sound. Tom gasp. Tears were forming in his big, scared dark eyes._

_Alone._

_He was alone._

_He was left alone surrounded by darkness and monsters._

_And he was cold... and hungry._

_Scary monsters are hungry to. Eat, monsters will eat him, because he was alone._

_Tears started running down his pale cheeks. Sobbing he tried to talk to him mom. He was in sky now, she should be able to help him._

_A loud thunder followed by a child's scream from another orphan was a warning for Tom. Monsters already attacked somebody, he is next._

_He's little legs touched the floor as he slipped off the bed. He run in the hallway. He tried to run away from the monsters, but they kept following him together with darkness and shadows. A lightning flashed illuminating the hallway and making the shadows even bigger and scarier. Tom tried to run faster and fell down._

_No the monsters are getting closer._

_They are going to eat him._

_No."_

"Tom." A soft whisper reached his ears. "Tom wake up."

Somebody shook his shoulder.

"Tom" A little louder this time same voice called again.

Slowly opening his onyx eyes he looked around.

"Tom are you alright?" A soft voice spoke up again.

"Monsters?" Tom questioned in a hushed sleepy voice.

"It was just a bed dream, darling."

Tom looked up at the kind, smiling face of a brown-haired women.

"Oh, umm... right. just a dream."

Amelia gave him another soft, motherly smile. "Come on darling, your diner is ready."

Tom gave her one small smile in return. "Thanks, I just need to return this books to their places and I'll come."

She nodded in return and run a hand trough his messy dark hair. "Don't take to long the diner will get cold."

She exited the room and Ton smiled a little smile again. Amelia didn't have any children and took upon herself to look after Tom like he was her son.

Dream.

Tom smile faded.

It wasn't a dream. It was a memory. Another memory from his dark and lonely past.

He never wonted to be that lonely again. His past was hunting him and he wonted to get rid of it.

The reason he wanted power was to get rid of the past, the reason he was living in a different time was to get rid of it. His every try was for nothing.

What did he have to do for past to stop hunting him?

It looked like his memories are always one step ahead of him. He couldn't remember anytime of his life that wasn't hunted by that emptiness.

Wait. He could remember one time he was free from all of it. Yes... It's gonna be hard, but he will get rid of it once and for all.

* * *

Author's note: Another chapter is finished.

Thank you all for reading and even bigger thank you for reviewing.

Now I got a question in the last two reviews so in case anybody else was wondering about it here it is:

1.Fake self that Tom left

I'll put it this way:  
Tom couldn't disappear from world without leaving his replacement in the time he lived in.  
So he kind of 'created' a new Tom.  
I mean creating is a wrong word to use here, but I'll leave it at that for now (more will be explained latter in the story).

2. No i don't have an editor.

I know I have to find someone for beta reading it and I promise I'll find someone to check it during this summer.

**Important: I might not be able to update next Friday. I'm still not 100% sure, but if the new chapter really doesn't show up next Friday that just means I'm stuck somewhere without a computer.**

Have a nice weekend XD


	19. Conciliation

Last chapter: Tom had a conflict with himself and another memory of his dark past

**19. Conciliation**

"Edwen?"

Silence.

"Are you coming?"

Artemisa was standing in front of her brother's bedroom and watched it's big wooden door, waiting for an answer. She had spent all morning trying to convince Edwen to come with her to see Tom. So far she was unsuccessful.

"Edwen, Tom asked to see both of us in the Court. He said it was important."

No answer.

"Will you at least answer me?"

Nothing.

"That's it! Open the door or I'll call mom!" Artemisa was really angry now. She had noticed a while ago that something wasn't right between her brother and Tom. But really? Wasn't this taking it a bit too far?

The door cracked open revealing Edwen's face.

"What?"

"What? You ask what? I've been calling you for at least ten minutes! God! I hate having to deal with you and Tom!" Artemisa sighed dramatically.

"So it is actually your idea for us to go and see Tom?" Edwen questioned.

"Guh! Weren't you listening? For the millionth time, TOM - CALLED - US." She took a deep breath before continuing in a calm voice. "Now if you would please join me and come to the Court."

Edwen was about to say something when Artemisa turned on her heels saying in her sweetest tone "I won't take no for an answer."

Edwen knew that tone too well. That was a tone that promised trouble for anyone who doesn't cooperate. So half an hour later he found himself sitting in one of many gorgeous salons of Court with Artemisa next to him and Tom's dark shape next to the widow.

The salon was done in antic style; Edwen was fairly sure that if touched anything it was going to break.

The room was wonderful.

The big window was divided with two pillars of the Hellenistic style, and the framework was an amazing plant relief. The door-frame had a same plant relief decorating it too. Different types of shelves and commodes were done in dark wood; their style was showing an old power and wealth of the family using this room.

The room was wooden furniture combined with rich-red, soft sofas that were surrounded by sculptures so realistic that they might have been living creatures. The two walls, on left and right side of the window were pictured to represent a fake window with garden behind, just like the real window had. It gave the room more spacious look and relaxing atmosphere.

But Edwen was far from relaxed. He watched Tom from the corner of his eyes feeling on edge. They hadn't said a word to each other since Edwens little outburst and now for some reason Tom had called both him and Artemisa to the Court.

"Listen, I know I never told you anything about me, but I'll try to tell you anything you want to know now. But you have to promise me that it will never leave this room." Tom voice was flat, but there was a hint of, not so well hidden, uncertainty.

Uncertainty that siblings noticed only because they had known Tom for so long, that they could predict his moods to some degree. Edwen and Artemisa nodded their heads in agreement, their curiosity growing as Tom slowly walked to sit across of them.

"I was wondering where do you come from?" Artemisa was the first to ask.

Tom sighed, he saw that one coming.

"I was born on December 31, 1926 in London."

He watched their faces as they slowly processed that information. Their faces showed a pure shock, but before they could ask anything Tom continued in a hushed voice.

"My mother died when I was born and I never met my father. I grow up in a Muggle orphanage. The reason I never talk about my past life is because I don't like remembering it. I don't like thinking about it even for a second. I..." Tom stopped talking and turned to the window.

Artemisa slowly got up, sat next to him and gave him a hug.

"You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to," she said in a soft voice, pulling him closer.

Edwen looked at the floor. He felt terrible. He couldn't believe that he yelled at Tom in the first place. If he was in Tom's shoes, he wouldn't want to talk about it with anybody either.

"I'm sorry," Edwen whispered.

Artemisa and Tom looked at him.

"I'm sorry I yelled. It never crossed my mind that there might be a good reason you don't talk about yourself and... I'm really sorry Tom."

Edwen looked up just in time to see Tom giving him a weak, forgiving smile.

"I know I should have told you." Tom whispered. "It's just... After all those years of being lonely I… I didn't like to have to turn around and think about them in order to tell my past... In order to have friends."

Edwen's eyes fell on the floor again. He couldn't even imagine how it would be to be lonely. His whole life, he was surrounded by family and friends. He always had someone.

"I'm wondering," Artemisa started "you should be around 108 years old now, right? So how is it that you look like a eleven or twelve years old?"

"I haven't aged since I was fifteen years old. Living in the diary meant that regardless of time passing I don't age. Well my body didn't age. But mind age isn't really connected to your physical age, but to your intelligence. I guess mind aging wasn't connected with the diary in the first place. How do I look like a eleven years old? I don't know. But I'm far from being 108 years old in both kinds of aging, well except in theory."

"So if you exited the diary as the fifteen years old you would be twenty-one now?"

"I guess... I don't really know. But after leaving the diary, I'm aging again, so I would be twenty-one now."

"Wait. If you created spell when you were fifteen doesn't that mean that after entering the diary you became a missing person?"

There comes the part that Tom really wanted to avoid.

"Well...um...you see when I was fifteen it wasn't really anything new when someone went missing. It was time of war after all. People went missing all the time, and were later found dead... or were never found."

Edwen's and Artemisa's eyes were so big that in any other situation, it would have been hilarious.

"Is that why you decided to create a spell that would allow you to live in another time?" Edwen questioned.

"One of the reasons. Yeah."

"What were others?" Artemisa asked quietly.

"I... I guess I couldn't stand to be alone anymore."

"Well, you're not alone now. And you never will be again. We are your friends and we will always be here for you. Right Edwen?" Artemisa said happily.

Edwen nodded. "We are more than just friends. We are family."

Both siblings flashed a huge smile in Tom's direction and even thought he returned it, he felt guilt squeezing his heart.

He avoided most of their questions and manipulated them.

Looking at their faces he wondered if it was a wrong thing to do after all...

Yes, it was. But he needed more time before he was ready... he needed just a little more time.

* * *

Author's note: Well tell me what you think. =)

As promised I have beta readers now (Chocolate Pencil_, imafeckingstarr_)

**Important: I will be on a vacation from 12th so there won't be an update next Friday (and around 90% there won't be an update on Friday after that either.**

Thanks you all for reading, and thanks editors for beta reading it for me.

P.S. I'll go back and correct all the chapters, but nothing important is going to change.


	20. Emma's Muggle life

**20. Emma's Muggle life**

"Tom! Over here!" A familiar voice called out.

Tom had come to Diagon Allay with Edwen, Artemisa and Mrs. Gray earlier that day. They had all separated less than an hour ago. Edwen had went with his Revenklow friends, Artemisa was with Mrs. Gray at Ollivander's and Tom was trying to find his Slytherin friends ever since.

"Tom I'm so glad to see you again," Another voice said as the swirl of black and blue jumped on him hugging him.

"We haven't heard a word from you whole summer," Lazy tone commented. Tom looked up to see Devlin standing next to a broadly smiling Emma. (Those two were becoming really close.)

Laurentia let go of Tom and smiled spinning.

"So you like my new dress?"

She was wearing a blue dress with green decoration that went perfect agents her smooth skin and draw attention to her cat-like green eyes.

"You look beautiful as always."

"Her father both her that dress in Egypt this summer and she has been showing it to everyone ever since," Fabius explained in a board voice.

"It looks perfect on me so way not?" Laurentia commented in her arrogant tone.

"Now that everyone is here I have a question to ask," Emma announced. Everyone turned their attention towards her.

"Since we all got most of the stuff we need for this school year I was wandering if you'd like to come to my house for diner tonight."

"Your house?" Daisy asked in a surprised voice.

"Believe it or not Daisy, I actually DO live in a house" Emma commented, rolling her eyes, "So are you in? My mum wonted to meet my new friends and I thought that diner at my house would be a good idea."

They all nodded their heads in agreement. After all they were all wondering how Emma's Muggle life looked before they met. They still had to check if they could go with their parents, but as long as their parents thought Emma was at least a half-blood there shouldn't be much problems.

"Perfect," Emma smiled, "Now I need… a pet. I haven't both one last year, but I saw a beautiful fluffy white kitty in the Catsy's pet shop."

"I'll accompany you. I already finished my shopping tour." Idris said.

"Since none of the boys have bought their book, they could go and collect those… and I'll go with Laurentia to buy potion ingredients. Let's meet here again in like… 30 minutes. Is that fine with everyone?" Daisy asked.

They all nodded and went their separate ways.

The boys had stopped at a few more sport shops and by the time they reached their gathering point, Tom could swore on his life that he saw the same two cloaked figures at least tree times in the same shops they entered.

Come to think of it, he saw those two figures while he was still with his adopted family. It was probably a coincidence, though.

While they were walking towards the exit they come across an interesting advertisement.

"Have you heard of those?" Din asked in an excited voice, showing the picture of what looked like mirrors and people talking trough them.

"Yes I did," Fabius answered. "They'll be out next month."

"What is that exactly?" Emma asked.

"You don't know?" Din asked shocked.

"How should I? I am a Muggle born in case you forgot." Emma answered angrily.

"I'll explain," Devlin jumped in. "You do know that wizards had for years been successful in connecting a few, usually two, objects together. Like transportation wardrobes or communicating mirrors or portraits of somebody..."

Emma nodded.

"Well this," Devlin pointed at the picture, "is kind of like communicating mirrors, except that with old mirrors you usually had two or three of. Those mirrors, or how they call them talknet mirrors, are a little different. You have a unique password or phrase for every one of them and you can talk with any person allover the world as long as you know their password so that you could call for them."

"Oh, I get it! It's like a mobile phone!" Emma said happily.

"What?"

"Right, you don't know what mobile phones or smart phones are. I'll explain…"

They started walking again, but Tom wasn't listening to the conversation anymore. Emma already explained to him and Fabius what the mobile phones were, after complaining about having to use owls to send messages.

Fabius wasn't interested in conversation either, or better to say, he was preoccupied with something else.

He, like Tom, had noticed the two men. But unlike Tom who dismissed it as a coincidence, Fabius was sure that those men were following them (or somebody in their group).

"Tom," He whispered so others won't hear them, "is it just me or were that men near the ice-cream stand in the book shop with us and later in a few sport shops too?"

Throwing a look at them Tom watched closely the way they were standing; turned slightly towards each other like they were talking. Their heads were slightly down and nearer to each than their bodies like they were whispering. They were walking toward the exit, but they were hardly the only one, however something about the way they walked caught Tom's attention. They were walking in shadows, avoiding all the sunny parts of the alley, their cloaks didn't raise any dirt, and it was like they aren't really touching the ground.

Tom looked at their hoods, but it was impossible to even guess what the faces hidden behind them look like. The darkness was swallowing them.

Tom felt a sudden shiver running trough his body and he looked back at Fabius. He could see that the boy was studying them too; his sharp eyes probably caught as many things as Tom did.

"Fabius?"

Silence.

"Fabius?"

The boy's eyes grow a size bigger as he turned towards Tom again.

"Did you see that?"

"See what?" Tom asked quickly turning his had towards the shadows, so quickly that he was surprised he didn't broke his neck. But the two men were gone.

"See what?" Tom questioned his friend again.

"I can't tell for sure, but to me it looked like they were casting a spell on us."

Tom blinked.

"Like a curs?" He asked.

Fabius just nodded and Tom couldn't stop his chuckles.

"You do realize you sound like some crazy Muggle right now, don't you?" he asked still chuckling.

Fabius just frowned. "You hadn't seen it. It really looked like…"

But he was interrupted by Daisy's call to hurry up. The two boys looked up just to see they had fallen behind quite a bit. They hurried their steps without mentioning another word about the event.

Later that night Tom was remembering the Slytherin group's way through London to Emma's house from earlier that day.

London had changed so much for the last century and a quarter, give or take a few years.

Once dirty stony streets with carriages and rare cars of wealthy people were now full of colorful placates, moving full colored 3D videos (Emma said those were video billboards for advertising), many different shaped and colored cars and tons of amusingly dressed people.

It was incredible.

Tom never thought he would wish for it, but he wanted to return to Muggle world to see all the new and amazing things Muggles now had. They had advanced so far, that many things were way beyond anything magic world had at that moment.

And Emma's house was sure as hell proving it! She said that her house was one of many new versions of smart houses. This didn't mean much for the group, so she had to do a lot of explanation. But the more she explained the more amazed everyone was.

Daisy, of course, had to comment about not knowing Emma had such wealth. But Emma's answer actually surprised everyone.

Last check of the population in the UK said there were around 62 (and something) million people, and 1.6% were millionaires. Her family however was among higher class of what she called 'average' households. She informed them of a few other facts related to current situation in the UK and world.

Tom, being slightly surprised that Emma knew so many facts, asked her how did she remembered all those stuff (she already explained the easy way to grader information in that time). His question was answered with a sad smile. Even thought her parents allowed her to go to Hogwarts, she still had to study for Muggle world, too.

She has been home-schooled since she was five, since at that time both of her parents traveled a lot. She used to travel with them all the time and she visited a lot of interesting places. And now she had been studying whole summer. She'd have exams on 28th and 29th of August.

Tom didn't really surprise anyone when he asked more about home-schooling, obviously wanting to study some subjects himself (the knowledge obsessed part of Tom was a part of him they all knew the best). Therefor Emma and Tom continued their conversation about home-schooling 'till diner time, only being interrupted when Emma needed to explain how something in her room worked to the rest of her guests.

When it comes to her parents... they were typical Muggles and, judging by their standards, the only reason Emma came to Hogwarts was because she begged them to let her go and promised to keep up with her Muggle studies.

Her father was an important individual in some Muggle company and traveled a lot because of meetings he had to attend allover the world. Her mother was a well-known pianist and had taught her daughter to play piano in an early age.

All in all, it seemed like Emma's parents were pushing her hard when it comes to her education. She had to know everything. But from the conversation Tom earlier had with her, many children were pushed the same way by their parents.

Her parents view of magic seemed a little better after a very long and cunningly convincing conversation with Tom. He really had manipulation down to a fine art. Fabius and Idris turned quite helpful too.

By the time they had parted, they had agreed to do a tour or two around Muggle part of London before the summer brake ends. As disturbed as they were with high expectations Emma's parents had when it comes to their daughter, her (Muggle) world still looked incredible to them.

Tom smiled. He didn't know why but he had a feeling that when it comes to his Slytherin friends, 'fight on your own' was slowly losing it's meaning. 'Do what ever necessary to reach your goal' was still there, but they were slowly starting to glide towards their goals together.

And when it comes to Slytherin's in-born hate of Muggles, Sorting hat couldn't made a better decision than that of putting Emma in the said house.

**Author's note:** I'm beck from my vacation and I hoped you enjoyed my new chapter. Tell me what you think of the story so far.

Thank you all for reading, reviewing, putting me to your favorites and/or alerts. It means a lot.

And one huge thanks to my beta readers for correcting this chapter.


	21. Not so welcome bump in

**21. Not so welcome bump in**

Tom was watching trough the compartment window as Hogwarts express chased towards its Hogsmeade station. He was listening to the conversation his companions so lively kept. But he was only half interested. After all they were talking about talknet mirrors. Again.

Tom sighed.

Really. Talknet mirrors. Is their nothing else interesting to talk about? Like... Hell, anything else would have been more interesting than same subject over and over and over again!

"Wouldn't it be cool if all of us had one? It would be so much easier to keep in touch," Idris commented.

"We will all have one," Laurentia said in a bored tone. "It's not like we can't afford it, or something."

"Don't you have to use magic to be able to call for somebody?" Emma questioned.

"Yes. Why?"

Everyone, including Tom, looked curiously at her.

"We are not allowed to use magic out of school. Am I right?"

"Like that stopped you before." Tom commented, before anyone had time to say a word.

Everyone's looked confusedly between relaxed looking Tom and shocked Emma, who's cheeks were turning a nice rad shade. But if amusement in Tom's eyes was anything to go by, her face was going to get even redder.

"You were using magic at home during last winter break, did you not?" Tom said smirking.

"I didn't use magic at home," Emma unhappily muttered.

"You didn't?" Tom questioned in a surprised voice.

"Well that's very interesting," his voice was fairly mocking now, "I was under the impression that, that little birthday gift you gave me included a few nice, complicated spells."

Emma's face was Gryfindor worthy red by now.

"So tell me, what Muggles use nowadays to create such an effects as the ones your little present had."

"Ugh, fine! I did use magic out of school!" Emma admitted miserably.

Tom's smirk grew in an satisfied smile. Victory.

"But just so you know," Emma continued, "I didn't use it at home. I used it while I was in Austria. I thought that there was no way in hell Ministry would know."

"Well, well, well." Din smiled. "It looks like being in our company is having quite an _effect _on our little mud-blood princess."

Emma, who was pissed off at Tom already, wasn't in mood for Din's humor one bit. But before she had time to complain Devlin had already hit Din over his head.

"Don't call her mud-blood, jerk!"

Din and Devlin continued with their little fight while the rest laughed. By now they all thought that Din's and Devlin's quarrels were just the way those two communicated.

* * *

Dinner at Great Hall was over and all the students were slowly moving towards their common rooms. Tom was still trying to get his mind to accept a shock from earlier sorting ceremony.

Artemisa was placed in Gyfindor.

Gryfindor!

Why that house for god's sake?

Of all the houses, why that one?

What is he going to do now? Socialize with a Gryfindor?

He was actually hoping she would end up in Slythering, not that stupid house.

As Tom continued to rant and rave in his head he accidently hit into something, or rather someone.

He looked up only to see surprised and a little bit scared old face of Rubeus Hagrid.

_"Oh, hell. No, no, no, no. This isn't happening." _Tom thought, slightly panicking. He had been so careful all past year to avoid this half-giant, and than this had to happen.

He threw a quick glance in direction of his friends, noticing they were all looking at him and the giant.

Tom forced an apologetic smile on his face. "Sorry professor Rubeus. I didn't mean to run into you."

He watched as Hagrid just nodded his head, looking tensed and almost scared. He went to his friends and giving them a small smile continued toward their common room.

Din started tasting him about being so spaced out, but Tom payed him no attention. He was worried that someone saw the scared look that passed Hagrid's face and was silently praying that he was worrying for nothing.

Next to him, Fabius had a thoughtful expression. He had been puzzled with a few things concerning Tom and professor's reaction to him was just added to an already long list. He stopped and looked at Tom, than back at the slowly withdrawing figure of Rubeus Hagrid.

Turning back to his friends, he quickly informed them he had to see their house head and run back towards the Great Hall. As soon as he was in a safe distance from his friends he called out to the half-giant.

"Professor! Professor Rubeus, sir!" Fabius tried to get Hagrid's attention as he run trough the crowd. "Professor Rubeus!" He watched as Hagrid slowly turned around and looked at him.

"What do ya' need Mr. ..."

"Whitehorn, sir." Fabius said. "I just noticed that you seem to know my friend, Tom Riddle."

Hagrid cursed under his breath before adding in a loud voice "I don' know him."

Fabius knew that was a lie, but he also knew that pushing any further wouldn't do him any good. He needed to be patient and slowly make Professor Rubeus tell him the truth.

He smiled at Hagrid's direction.

"I am sorry I bothered you professor. Have a nice night."

"G'night."

Fabis watched as Hagrid's figure continued over the dark yard, his stare turning cold and calculating. Forming a plan, he smirked. What ever Tom is hiding ('cause he sure is hiding something), Fabius was death set on finding out.

Turning around, he slowly walked to the Slythering common room. This was going to be a challenge, but Fabius had a feeling the truth is more then worth it.

* * *

**Author's note:** ... I actually don't have anything important to say, so if you have any questions or complains tell me

Thank you all for reading my story so far, I'm glad you like it ^.^


	22. Snake friends

**22. Snake friends**

_"A month. A month had passed and I still have nothing!"_ Fabius thought, irritated. _"Getting information from professor huge-frick Hagrid is proving to be difficult. Damnit!"_

Fabius looked opposite him where Tom was sitting eating him dinner and reading a history book. He wished he knew what the dark-haired boy was really thinking about.

Fabius couldn't prove it, but sometimes it looked like while reading Tom was thinking about some totally different thing and in the same time memorizing everything he read. Fabius saw over million times by now how Tom's eyes went over the pages as if scanning them, but his face expression looked far away.

At first, while they were still beginners at Hogwarts, he would think Tom was just thinking about something he read. Now, he wasn't so sure. The fact was that his Slytherin friend never missed anything going around him, no matter what he was doing. True, Tom did have his space out moments, but those were rare. And all in all there was just something off about him.

"Fabius, will you stop staring at me? It is not polite to stare at people." Tom said in his calm voice, not throwing a single glance in the direction of the said boy (and once again proving that Fabius' thoughts were on the right track)

"Who said I was looking you?" Fabius questioned. His voice was slightly defensive and Tom noticed it.

"Aren't you now?" Tom said, finally looking up. His eyes had a strange light in them. Light that sent Fabius on edge. "Tell me, you seem to be spending a lot of your time with Professor Rubeus. Family connection?"

And he thought no one knew he was trying to get closer to the said professor. Leave it to Tom to complicate things. Fabius could say that there was indeed a family connection, but the look in dark onyx eyes told him clearly that they knew exactly what he was doing. Fabius didn't know how to answer and before he could even think of an answer that would work, Tom already opened his mouth to say something more.

He was, however, interrupted by darkly frowning Din. Both boys looked curiously at the normally cheerful boy. Din didn't seem to notice their interest and just kept looking darkly in front of him. So after a few minutes of silence Tom decided to ask.

"Something wrong?"

Din threw him an irritated stare before snapping "What d' ya think? Those damn Gryffindor's! God I hate them. Can you believe it?" he didn't wait for an answer or any kind of comment, but continued his rants, "Those damn Gryffindors just used the same prank we did last year to get them in trouble, they used it on our first years! We lost 50 points, and kids got themselves a nice detention too!"

Tom's first thought to this was Artemisa.

He knew the girl should be placed in Slytherin, not loser Gryffindor.

His next thought was that he would have to have a little talk with his adopted little sister. How could she use his prank on house he was in! One huge well done for successfully doing it, but it was his tactic to sabotage other houses! (A tactic that went perfectly smooth last school year)

Tom got up from the table, excused himself, and went to find the little trouble-maker. It didn't take him long. She was surrounded by the laughing group of Gryffindors and noticed him the second he entered the empty classroom and waved happily.

"Hi Tom!"

"Misa." He nodded. "Can I... talk with you for a sec?"

"Sure."

While they walked a few meters away from the group of Gryffindors Tom saw a few girls blush and giggle, while the rest started whispering. Turning back to broadly smiling girl, he locked his cold dark eyes with her soft blue ones.

"Would you like to explain to me why you used my prank on students from my house? No wait... I don't care if you want to, just explain."

Artemisa sighed. "Come on Tom, it was just for fun. It's not like you have any right to judge in the first place."

"Artemisa, you do know I don't like losing. No... Wait, I'm not done. Second, aren't Gryffindors all honorable? Yet you cheated, making Slytherin lose points."

Artemisa had to roll her eyes at that comment. "And while I am a Gryffindor, I'm also had you as a teacher when I was little. So you now, your 'do anything to get what you want' is kinda my life philosophy." She smiled at him.

Tom just glared.

"I thought you love challenges. This one is going to be a classic don't you agree?" she asked, smirking. "Why don't we see just how much I learned?"

"Not enough to win a house cup." Tom commented.

She laughed. "Well we have a whole year to see that."

"Fine. But you and your house are still gonna come second."

"Let the game begin then." She smiled. "I'll see you around."

Tom couldn't help but smile at her. "Swindle is done from the shadows, princess. Bye."

Artemisa just smiled and went back to her Gryffindor friends.

"I can't believe you are friends with some arrogant Slytherin," Blond boy, Lucias, commented.

"What's wrong with that?" Artemisa questioned.

"They are bunch of snobs. They think they are better then all of us just because," the third-year-old girl, Medina, said.

"Thought Tom is totally cute too," another girl giggled.

Artemisa just rolled her eyes. Though her friends were a really nice people, they were such idiots sometimes. However, if she is going to win this little house war she'll need them.

She sighed.

This would be so much easier if she was in Slytherin.

* * *

**Author's note:** I have been missing your reviews for some time now =(

Pleas tell me wath you think. There's no point in me writing if no-one really likes it. (yeah, I know you are reading, I can see that at traffic status, but I would really like a review or two)


	23. Mysteries of history

**23. Mysteries of history**

Tom was with Edwen and Artemisa in the Room of Requirement, studying from some books that were sent to them from the island.

Early November was cold and rainy and no-one went out of the castle unless totally necessary.

"Tom," Artemisa broke trough the silence, "I was wondering about that muggle-born girl, Emma, her birthday is near is it not?"

Tom just nodded, not looking up from his book.

"What are you going to buy her?"

"The girls decided that we should all buy her one of those new mirrors together. Easier to keep in touch," he said in an uninterested voice. "Why do you ask?"

"I kinda like her and that Idris girl too. That giggling one is to annoying though."

"Daisy?" Edwen questioned.

"Yes, that one."

Tom sighed, "Are we studying or not?"

"It's been three hours," Edwen announced, "We should stop actually."

"That much already." Tom said, almost to himself.

Artemisa looked at the two boys sitting in front of her. She had heard an interesting rumor yesterday, but she wasn't sure if the boys are interested in hearing it. Still she wanted their opinion on it so she was going to bring it up anyway.

As the boys got up ready to go, she said, "I was wondering, have you two heard anything about some cloaked strangers appearing all around Italy?"

Both boys turned around to look at her, curiosity evident in their eyes.

"You know that girl from Gryffindor, Feleny, she is in third year?" The boys nodded. "Her father is working in the Ministry for some school connections, for exchancing students, this new program and everything..."

"Cut the chaise Misa." Tom cut in, his tone of voice loudly saying _I'm not a girl and I don't care for every detail._

"Shut up. I'm just coming to the main part! Well, her father, being in contact with some Italian minister or something, heard this rumor about black-hooded people appearing out of nowhere, and walking around magical world. Italian Ministry still hasn't said anything about them officially, but they are afraid of this new group that is certainly up to no good."

Edwen looked thoughtful, while Tom rolled his eyes.

"_Sure. _What a likely story that is. That girl, whatever her name is, was just trying to get attention. Typical Gryffindor."

"I would like to agree with you Tom, but a Ravenclaw boy from seventh year didn't go to France for his last year because of the same rumor." Edwen said.

"Oh, _please. _Are you saying we have a new _scary dark wizard _after us?" he asked sarcastically, "What are we going to do? He might eat us alive!"

Edwen and Artemissa said nothing. They knew Tom too well to try to change his opinion on something. They all went towards their own house with head full of their own concerns and thoughts.

* * *

Emma's birthday came and went, and so did the rainy days. December came knocking on their door, with the first snow for that season. Outside was freezing cold, and their Herbology class was dismissed thanks to the too low temperature.

The Great Hall didn't have many students this late in the morning, so there wasn't much noise. The warm of the Hall was comforting and the second-year Slytherins were enjoying their free time.

Girls were chatting about something only they found important, their voices fast and low, interrupted by giggles from time to time. Devlin and Din were talking with Edwen (who was missing Herbology with his Ravenclaw friends just as they did). Fabius was reading Daily paper. And Tom, guess what, Tom was reading a book (a Transfiguration book, for a change).

"Hm..." Fabius mumbled quietly.

Tom looked up from his book. Fabius on the other hand just continued reading and mumbling to himself. "That's interesting..."

Tom closed his book; he wasn't into it much anyway. He already new all that stuff mentioned. He wondered if he should question Fabius, what was so interesting, but he had some other thoughts on his mind and he could always ask for the paper later.

He asked Mr. Gray to send him some history books about the island, but instead was told that only certan people had access to them. He looked at Edwen. The boy certainly didn't have access to them, but maybe he knew something from some stories.

"Ed." Tom called.

"Yes?" The boy questioned.

Nah, who was he kidding, if Edwen knew anything he would have already told him when he asked about history books.

"Nothing."

Edwen throw him a confused look, before turning to go back to his Ravenclaw friends with light wave of his hand.

Tom was deep in thoughts. He had to question somebody about his suspicions. But who? While he _did_ at firs dismissed the rumors siblings told him, latter he remembered the two cloaked figures he and Fabius saw, that day at Diagon Alley. His subconscious also created a dream that at first didn't make much sense to the boy.

In his dream, two black figures were standing in the shadows of the forest and watched him, and them followed him with only their eyes visible under theirs black hoods.

Tom's first thought was that the nightmare was created because of the rumors Artemisia and Edwen mentioned. But later, when the dream repeated itself, he remembered the two cloaked figures from the allay, as well as that night at Forbidden forest, when he was under the impression of someone watching him from the dark.

After that connection, he was losing sleep a lot, and he needed some answers. He was greatly bothered by the whole thing. He needed to ask somebody. Looking up at the ceiling, the answer hit him. It was pretty obvious really.

Salazar Slytherin.

Who better to tell you about past if not somebody as old as the history itself?

Quickly standing up, he went to send an owl to the old man, hoping he would agree to Tom's request.

* * *

Early Saturday morning, Tom was walking down the main street of Hogsmead towards the mountains, where he was supposed to meet with Salazar.

He had sneaked out of Hogwarts before anyone even got up and was now walking trough the snow covered sleepy village. He had to admit he was surprised when Slytherin agreed to meet him, Tom had thought it would take lot of "begging" and manipulating for the old man to agree. He turned to be wrong.

Entering a little cave, he saw Salazar sitting next to the fire with wooden chares and table, most likely created with some spell.

Tom took a set opposite the man and looked up at him. Man's green-silver eyes were shinning with what Tom couls only guess was interest and curiosity.

"You wanted to see me, Tom." Salazar said in his aincent voice.

"Yes," _("Obviously why else would I call you" _Tom thought) "I needed some answers and information, and I thought; who better to ask then you?" he said, smiling.

Light in Salazar's eyes changed, but Tom was once again at loss at what the man in front of him was thinking. Even after the year and a half of _knowing _him. Tom still wasn't able to read the old man, and that thought irked him to no end.

"Is that so?" Salazar questioned, "And what is that Tom, that you need to know?"

"A few things," Tom answered, "First of, there had been some rumors about cloaked figures appearing in Italy and France. Are those true?"

Salazar Slytherin nodded.

"How do you know?" Tom questioned.

"I know lot of things boy, and getting into every detail about how I get my information would take weeks, since I sure you have more questions, way don't we continue with them?"

"...okay, next... right, I asked for a history book about the island and they said I couldn't have one. Can you tell me something about it?"

Salazar was looking the boy in front of him carefully; guess it wouldn't hurt to tell him a bit of history.

"What do you want to know?"

"Everything you can tell me." Tom answered immediately. "But for starts, how are you connected to the island? I thought that your hair was to control it but now I'm not so sure."

"Tell me, Tom what do you know about islands, anything about its creation?"

Tom shook his head.

"But you know about prophecy."

Tom just nodded. He had absolutely no idea where this was leading.

Salazar sighed.

"This is gonna take a while. I hope you don't have anything better to do today."

Tom just continued to watch his teacher ( or master, or however else you want to call it).

(history)

_At ancient times, the times of old civilizations, wizards were priced and lived in beautiful palates of lords or in rich temples. They were priced as special and magnificent, sent from gods themselves. In that time they had everything._

_Also in that time one of the greatest wizards and philosophers, whose name was unfortunately forgotten and deleted from history, gave his most trusted students a prophecy. A prophecy of a man (or women) with the great powers, powers coming from the will power of that individual, powers coming from the life around them._

_His students were supposed to keep it a secret and only in their dying breath, give someone their place._

_Students being from different civilizations (Greek, Aztec, Maya, Egypt, Mesopotamia and China) went to their own country swearing among themselves that they were going to pass their masters wish to only one of their country, and so will the rest of the persons in the passing line. They called themselves protectors._

_However as one civilization was dying and the other prosper, people who knew about the prophecy changed._

_And soon the wizards who knew about it were from so many different civilizations that the secret was out and there were many old royal families which wonted that power to themselves._

_How exactly did the certain 25 families, connected to three of the firs six protectors, find each other is a huge hole in the history, but they created the island and, with a dozen of their most trusted servants and friends, moved to live there._

_Many other powerful and rich families followed their lead and did the same thing alone or with another rich family. Number of the wizards was drastically lessened. The ability to use magic without wand was soon forgotten and so was the prophecy._

_Now barely who even knows this story as a legend let alone believe it._

_I was born on the island, my father was one of the five lords, and in my time in the Court there was a family living there. The family of the wizard who gave the prophecy._

_Over the years there were some changes in the families that lived on the island, there were a few new ones that were allowed on the island by the Great lord. He had an idea; he wanted the people living on the island to be from every nation and he was slowly succeeding. However, once he came upron idea that__ a dozen of mud-bloods should be allowed on the island too._

_I argued with that teory, completely sure that mud-bloods couldn't be trusted, they would just want to use it for their Muggle world. The Muggle world at that time was far behind anything wizards had. Being able to use our power would be a dream come true for them, but as I later learned, our power was their greatest fear. _

_No-one agreed with me. They all wanted a Muggle born on the island, and they find one, or rather, our prince found one. A Muggle born girl; an angel, with long blond hair and sea blue eyes. She was allowed on the island, and she soon choused many other mud-bloods to join her._

_As I strongly disagreed with their choice, I ended up in the fight with the prince and had to live the island or risk dying a painful death._

_Godric Gryffindor, man from the newly added family, my servant and my best friend came with me. He didn't really agree with me, but we were too close of friends for him to leave me._

_On our trawels we met Rowena Ravenclaw and Helga Hafflepuff and decided to create a school where we would teach young wizards about magic. At the same time I was trying to develop an interesting ability._

_There's the reason I'm a first known wizard who could talk to snakes. I was fascinated with the legends that the one of the prophecy would be able to talk to them, I wanted to be able to do the same. I succeeded._

_And for some unknown reason my ability was passed to my children and grandchildren._

_Some time after the school was finished I ended up in a fight with my friend Godric. I still detested mud-bloods and I started desiring power. Power so great that nothing will stand in my way. I left Hogwarts in search for it. This time, after all the fights we had, Godric staid behind._

_Not long after I left Hogwarts, I got a message from my father. He died and his servant has been trying to find me for over a year to give me a message, my father's last wish._

_The island was under attack. Many had died. My whole family did and so did the family from the Court. My father's last wish was for me to marry and have children, and I don't know why I couldn't ignore his last wish. I married the women I wasn't in love with, and had five children. Most of them died young._

_(A/N: might be continued, I'm talking about Salazar's story if you wonder XD)_

"The rest of the story is for some other time Tom. It's already late and you should get going."

Tom was fascinated by the story and didn't even noticed the time passing by. He wished he could hear more of it.

"I just have a few more questions," he quickly said, "The prophecy from the story, it's the prophecy I head, right?"

Salazar only raised a brown in clear indication of _do you really need me to tell you that._

"And those mysterious individuals," Tom continued, "they are from the other hidden islands; they are other believers of the prophecy."

It was more of a statement then a question, but Salazar nodded anyway.

"Be careful Tom, they are after you. You created a war once, with that little Voldemort incident."

Tom blushed to this words and mumbled "How did you know?"

But Salazar ignore him and continued "If you create another one, I think we all know which side you choused."

Tom looked down to the cave floor. It's not like he regret the last wizard war he caused, but he wasn't overly proud of it either. Truth to be told, he didn't really know how to feel about it. He guessed, he didn't really care one way or another.

Slowly he left the cave and returned to Hogwarts.

* * *

Fabius was sitting on the window frame in the sparsely attended hallway.

He had successfully got information from Hagrid. Three months of manipulation and charming had paid off. But he didn't know what to make of it now.

Professor Rubeus said that Tom reminded him of a boy he went in school with, boy named Tom Marvolo Riddle. Same name, same looks, same house. Fabius was confused.

After lot of research, Fabius successfully found as many information as he could. Tom Marvolo Riddle seemed to be a perfect student, in every possible way (like the Tom Fabius knew). It would be expected that such a student would be easy to track down after his school years too. How wrong was that?

After Hogwarts, Fabius couldn't find a single information about the said boy.

But what puzzeled him the most was the reaction of Hagrid when he saw Tom that day. He heard the story about incident with Chamber of Secrets from Hagrid himself, but he had a feeling that wasn't the real reason for sceard face made back when he saw Tom. He asked that one a few times, but he couldn't get an answer.

Could it be a momentary shock for seeing someone so similar to the person you know. A person that disappeared decades ago? Could be.

Fabius remembered the diary he found among Tom's belonging. If he recalled correctly, which he was certain he did, the page he started to read was supposedly written in 1942... yes, 1942.

It went something like... succeeding with some spell... spell... spell for what?

Opening the Chamber of Secrets?

A possibility. Chamber was opened same year.

Could it be that Tom inherited that diary from that other one? And decided to write in it?

_"Tom's parentes were dead, maybe that was all he had left from them, from his family,"_ Fabius thought sadly.

Then something else crossed him mind. If that older Tom _had_ opened the Chamber of Secrets, than he was the heir of Salazar Slytherin. And if he is some ancestor of this Tom, that meant this Tom was the heir too. He was a direct successor of Slytherin himself.

But Tom never told them about that. Did he even knew?

Once again Fabius wondered where the older Tom disappeared. What was his story? Did the same thing got him and the younger Tom's parentes? Was it after Tom too?

Many questions were going trough Fabius' head, but he couldn't answer any of them, and if he did just more questions came to take the place. It was like fighting a hydra, except more than two heads grew in the place of the cut one.

Maybe he should ask Tom about it?

No. Someone had to crazy to even think about it in Tom's presence. Fabius could swear that Tom could read minds.

Should he bring it up to someone else then?

...

Probably not.

So what should he do? Let it go?

No way in hell that's gonna happen.

A group of Gryffindors passed by, making rude comments and making fun of him and Slytherin house.

He thought how everyone detested Slytherin from the weary beginning, or that's how it looked like sometimes anyway. Not that he cared much about it.

Victors are always standing alone.

But for some reason, Fabius always thought that Slytherin house was even more hated then before since dark Voldemort times.

Voldemort was a heir of Slytherin after all. Then in struck him.

Heir of Slytherin, just like the older Tom, and possibly the one Fabius knew too.

Is that way Tom never told them anything about it? Was he afraid they will hate him?

But Voldemort was supposed to be the last living (now dead) Salazar's Slytherins successor. Fabius was sure of it. After all, his grandfather used to be a chaild of the well known Death Eater.

So could Tom be a living Slytherin heir? If he is, why didn't he tell them?

True, their were many pure-blood families that lost a lot after that war and hated and blamed Voldemort for it, even if their ancestors were loyal servants of the Dark Lord.

That theory was a good one, Fabius admitted to himself. But he was still missing a few major facts. He needed to go to the library. It was going to close in an hour so if he harries he might have just enough time.

* * *

Tom was deep in his thoughts and just needed some peace and quite to think about everything, but that peace and quiet was interrupted when he run in the siblings.

"Tom where have you been?" Artemisa questioned.

"We've been trying to find you all day with no success, whatsoever!" Edwen complained.

"Oh, hi guys." Tom said halfheartedly. He was tired, and his mind was in overload. He needed rest.

"Don't you _hi _me! Where have you been?" Artemisa snapped. She and Edwen had spent all day looking for their adopted brother, but even his Slytherin friends hadn't seen him whole day, and now that they finally found him he was going to ditch them. No way!

Tom, who wasn't really in mood for one of long arguing seasons with Artemisa, sighed.

"I was doing some research," he said, his voice tiered.

"And?" She questioned.

Tom finally looked up at her, he remembered what Salazar said about dark figures appearing around Europe. "And I think we should spent more time practicing our duel skills. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm tired and I need some sleep. Good night."

And with that he walked away, living a confused Edwen and an irritated Artemisa behind.

* * *

Fabius sighed.

He couldn't find anything about birth year of Voldemort. He was an active dark wizard from 1950 (give or take a few years) to 1998. Fabius could only guess he was in twenties or thirthies at the time he started raising as a dark wizard. But that would place him at Hogwarts around the same time as the old Tom Marvolo Riddle.

Did they knew each other? Were they brothers?

There wasn't apsolutely anything about young Voldemort. And all he found about old Tom were school reports and other stuff like that. Nothing personal.

Come to think of it, there wasn't a single thing about student Voldemort in school archive. Not any kind of reward, or great O.W.L.s and N.E.W.T.s. Surely such a powerful wizard had done those tests magnificently.

Or at least he should have gotten in a lot of detentions because of dark magic.

Tom caught the person who opened the Chamber (wrong person, but still chough someone). And Fabius assumed, because of the diary, that he also opened the Chamber and caught a wrong one on purpose, so he wouldn't get expelled (typical Slytherin).

But if Voldemort did go to school at the same time as old Tom, than Voldemort opened the Chamber. They were both Slytherins, certainly someone as intelligent as Tom could have figured out who really opened the Chamber then.

Was he covering for Voldemor?

A possibility. And if it was Vodemort who opened the Chamber, maybe older Tom wasn't Slytherins heir after all.

Fabius looked back at the paper where he wrote most important fasts he found about old Tom and Voldemor.

Tom Marvolo Riddle was born in 1926. Fabius just needed to find the date of Voldemort's birth, and he could confirm his theory. But how to find it was a real question. Thinking back he remembered Emma doing some research about Dark Lord. He wondered if she knew.

Might be worth a try.

Walking around the library and returning books he didn't need any more, he spotted her returning some books too.

"Hey Emma." he cold out.

She turned and smiled in his direction. "Oh, hi! Haven't seen you there or anywhere all day for that matter. Have you seen Tom?"

"No. Is he missing?" Fabius asked half jokingly.

"Actually yes. But knowing him he will show up sooner or later. What about you? Where were you all day?"

"Who? Me?" Fabius joked. "I made a bet with my friend that I can find birth year of Voldemort and I was stuck in library all day. Now that I think about it, you did a research on him, didn't you?"

"On who? Your friend? No, I don't think so." She said, laughing.

"_Voldemort_, princess."

"I did, but it's not like your friend will know if the year is right or not. Just chose a logical one."

"He wouldn't know even if it was illogical," Fabius smiled, "but now that I spent all day stuck here, I want to know."

Emma looked at him before looking back to the book in her hand.

"You can't find that year in the books here, I already tried."

"But I know where I can find it." Fabius said calmly, "That little year is memorized in your head, is it not?"

"How so?" She asked.

"I saw you... talking to Harry Potter... he told you everything you wonted to know... that's why you stopped your research after meeting him."

Fabius watched closely Emma's expression. There was a light blush in her cheeks and she was carefully avoiding eye contact.

"He told me nothing, that's why I gave up."

His eyes narrowed at her lie. He quickly trapped her, with his hands at both sides of her head, shelf and his body blocking her way.

"You are lying. And we both know that. The only question is why, what are you trying to hide?"

Emma looked up at him. She looked him at the eyes. Her golden-brown ones locking with his sea blue-green ones. Than her eyes fell on the ground and Fabius could see she was trying to hold some emotion back. But her sudden laughing got him; it sure wasn't something he expected.

"Fine, fine, I'll tell you the year. I would have told you anyway." She said still laughing. "But you have to admit I'm a great actress."

She was grinning at his shocked face.

"You are a great actress" Fabius mumbled. Sure she got him, that little mud-blood was hell good. She wasn't in Slytherin for nothing after all.

While Fabius was trying to get out of the shock, Emma's mind was going in overdrive. Should she tell him the real year or just think of a fake one? Truth to be told she wasn't that good of a liar. And she was afraid Fabius would see trough her lie, if she tried. That would prove his previous statement that she is hiding something.

She had to lie, but Fabius was to perceptive to not see trough it. Besides she always blushes when she lies, damn even Din would have seen trough her lie! The truth then. God, Tom's gonna kill her.

"So the year?" Fabius questioned.

_"Last chance to change your mind" _Emma thought, before answering, "Voldemort was born in 1926."

She watched as Fabius face slowly turned into a thoughtful mask as he placed all the pieces together and then into an expressin of pure shock.

_"Oh, shit. I better go talk to Tom." _Emma thought.

"Ammm... I have to go.. I have some... ummm... Bye!" She waved at him and amlost run towards the Slytherin common room where she hoped to find Tom.

Unknown to her, Fabius did the execly same thing, juts folowing differen hallways.

They run into each other infront of the wall leading to the common room and trying to act calm, smiled and entered their eyes searching the room for the black-haired boy.

He was sitting next to the fire place half asleep when they both came toward him.

"Hi Tom! Artemisa and Edwen were looking for you." Emma anounced, hoping he would look up and get a hint of the situation.

Tom however spoke without opening his eyes, "I've already seen them a few minutes ago."

"Well that geat! Then you can... umm help me with the last Transfiguration lesson." She said, trying to sound cheerfull.

Fabius trow her a glance. It was obvious what she was trying to do. And slightlly patetic too. Though, he still had to gave her a lot of credit for the way she acted in the library.

"Hey everyone!" One sixth-year boy called out. The room went quiet as all eyes set on the boys figure. "I got some news. Liten to this: After many calles from diferent wizard housholds all over the Europe and Asia, ministries of many countries finally agreed to look into the subject of cloacked figures appering out of nowhere in our world. Many wizards are afraid that this new organisatin was the biggest group of dark wizards since Voldemort himself. However, since no accidents happened so far, Ministers are begging their people to stop panicking."

"As for our country, while there were few _witnesses,_ they might be just wizards who are following this new trend of panic. Since there were no strong evidence of such figures on our territory, Minister announced that he will not waste any time trying to find out why teenagers around the world decided to start a trend of wearing dark cloaks."

The room was quiet for another few minutes and then the whispering started. Everyone had an opinion on this.

Tom and Fabius excainge glances. The figures they saw at Diagon Alley, deffinetly weren't some crazy cloaked teenagers.

Tom had the bloodcurdling feeling that terrible dark events had yet to come. What he didn't know was that enybody with half of the brain felt the same cold chills up their spine, just like he did.

* * *

**Author's note**:

1. THANKS to harrypotterlover317 and TomRiddlelover for reviewing last chapter and to Chocolate Pencil for betareading it.

2. Thank you all for reading

3. Important I was thinking about connecting some of the old chapters in one, instead of being separated in two. But since you are my readers and I don't want to confuse you, I would like to know what you think about it. (Not is going to change except the number of the chapters)


	24. One more piece of a puzzle

**24. One more piece of a puzzle**

Hogwarts Express was gliding trough the snow covered hills, returning students back to their homes for the holidays.

Fabius looked at Tom. He was irritated to no end. Tom has been avoiding him for two weeks now and the reason was obvious to Fabius. He had some questions and Tom was avoiding answering them. Fabius couldn't get him alone.

Fabius gaze slide to Emma. She wasn't leaving Tom's side since the moment she told him the year of Voldemort's birth. The girl was proving to be way smarter than he originally thought. And while their careful avoiding of him proved that there was something more to the all old Tom Riddle-Voldemort thing, it didn't prove his theory.

He tried questioning Artemisa and Edwen, but only thing he got from them was a betrayed and disappointed look from Edwen, and angry and confused look from Artemisa. Apparently they didn't know anything either. Or at least Edwen didn't know. From the few occasions Fabius talked with Artemisa, he gathered she was a great actress, like Tom. Therefor when it came to her, Fabius couldn't tell.

Siblings, tried to question Tom a few times, but eventually gave up. Well they could gave up, when they were going to spend whole holiday with Tom.

Fabius sighed. Whole this thing was giving him a headache, but he was going to get to the bottom of it no matter what. He already came this far.

Emma looked at Fabius and then Tom. She was surprised that Tom wasn't mad at her. Though, it was a good thing it still surprised her. She had to stay close to Tom all the time after that library incident. It wasn't that she thought Tom couldn't make up a believable story; it was that she couldn't. She knew too well how slim chances she had, if she tried to lie to Fabius. So she stick with Tom all the time.

Oh, well. Holidays should gave her some time to relax, and then back to avoiding again. Or maybe Fabius would forget or gave up... Not likely.

Emma sighed. She really hoped Tom will have an incredible, believable story made up when they return to school. A story that will explain their avoiding as well.

Tom was looking trough the window. While he was angry at Emma at first for telling Fabius the year of Voldemort's birth, the year of _his_ birth, he had to admit that Fabius would found out anyway. His grandfather was a former Gryffindor and a good friend of Harry Potter, so he was really close to the previously mentioned _hero_.

Still, if Emma hadn't told him the year, he could have came up with the story that Fabius wouldn't have reason to suspect and wouldn't have who to question to confirm and siblings would know nothing. Perfect scenario.

In not so perfect scenario, Fabius would still question siblings and Tom would still be in a lot of trouble. But the scenario playing now was certainly the worst possible ever. Emma was proving to be really intelligent though. Fabius could have easily got all the information from her, but she was careful to never leave Tom's side and was partly correcting her previous mistake with it. Correcting as keeping the rest of the things she knew in her head and not at the reach for anybody else.

Tom sighed. Like he needed more things to worry about. He really should have deleted Emma's memories back then. Too late to regret it now though. In the end, who knows, with her intelligence she might prove useful at some point.

* * *

The day was slowly passing by. Tom was deep in his own thoughts to notice anything. Years back, he would said that prophecies are for people who believed in destiny, which he didn't, he created his own path. Now he wasn't so sure.

"Do all prophecies come true?"

...

He could feel everyone watching him. Did he said that out loud?

_Great!_

He turned towards his friends. Yes, they were all watching him.

"It depends on the prophecy, I guess." Idris answered slowly in a slightly confused voice.

"How so?" Tom questioned. He might as well ask now that he slipped the previous question.

"Well we have three types of prophecies. Two came from wizards and ones are from centaurs. The ones from the centaurs are general, and normally about the big events. They aren't too personal, so I think they mostly, if not always, come true. Next we have prophecies we study at Hogwarts. I personally think, it's just a bunch of old wives' tales, and those prophecies most definitely don't come true, unless it was a lucky guess. And lastly we have prophecies where a certain wizard fells in some kind of trans and tells something he later doesn't remember. I am only guessing that thous prophecies are mostly true too. They are a bit too personal to be 100% true though," Idris explained.

"So you believe in destiny? You believe that we all have a chosen path we will walk, even before we were born?" Devlin questioned.

"When you put it that way.. no, I do not. But the fact is that there are tons of prophecies that did come true."

"You know," Laurentia said, "I think that we all do have a certain destiny that's waiting for us at the end of the road that we follow at the moment, but we can always change the road we walk down, and our destiny would change with it."

"That is a good explanation for the prophecies of centaurs, but it does not explain the wizard trans prophecies." Emma pointed out.

"Wizard trans prophecies, as you called them Emma, usually refer to may different persons and one of the many, to which the prophecy refers to, will chose the path that will fulfill the said prophecy." Fabius offered.

They all nodded. That was a good theory. All of them were. But they were just theories that might be true or might not.

_"So there were or would be more persons who traveled trough time," _Tom thought.

Should he ask? Why not? He can't create the worst trouble then the one he was already in.

"Were there any wizards which traveled trough time?" Tom asked.

Emma and Fabius exchanged a confused look (as did everyone else) and than looked at Tom. First prophecies and now time traveling. After a long time they were on the same page again.

What was going trough his mind?

Tom trow them an irritated _what_ look.

He could ask, couldn't he? Even he couldn't know everything! How annoying.

Devlin, who wasn't overly happy by the all exchange between Emma and Fabius answered, "There were some stories, more like legends, about time traveling. While possibility of going back in time for a few hours is well known among wizards, the real time traveling from one year to another is still a mystery. There are rumors of some wizards doing it, but they normally don't have any proof and are discarded as crazy."

"Furthermore, " Laurentia continued, "time is to dangerous to play with. Many wizards died trying to control it. Others disappeared, never to be seen again. Who knows maybe somebody really did succeed, but will never return. Ministry forbid any kind of future tests about three years ago, when hundreds of wizards died in an attempt to create an ultimate time traveler." she finished.

Tom just nodded. So there have been many attempts of time traveling. Why did Salazar choose him to be the individual prophecy is referring too? Because they were related?

After a history lesson from Salazar, Tom finally put pieces together at how he got to the island. Salazar Slytherin had access to both Hogwarts and the island. He somehow knew what Tom did, he knew everything that happened with Tom's clone, he somehow knew that the elders of the island will see in Tom the one of the prophecy, he knew protectors would see him as the one too. Did that meant he is the wrong person for the prophecy. He remembered what Fabius said. That among the many humans prophecy could refer too one would be chosen by the many things that happened, that would make him think or feel a certain way. Things that would lead him to the prophecy.

Looks like he wasn't getting away from it. He was tangled in everything much more than he would have ever thought.

Tom looked around. Slytherins are known for their self preservation nature, if things get really ugly would his friends leave him or choose his side?

He wasn't sure he wanted to know the answer.

* * *

**Author's note: **Leave a comment =)

Oh, I almost forgot... **Important: **I'll post the dates of birth of most of the characters as well as the names of the Hogwarts professors and the subjects they teach in next few days, so if you want to see them go to my profile page in a few days.


	25. The long awaited truth

**25. The long awaited truth**

"See you after the holidays."

"I missed you."

"How was your school dear?"

"Mum! Dad! Over here!"

Platform 9 and 3/4 was filed with greetings and farewells and all other noises people made. Mrs. Gray was waiting for siblings and Tom at the station with three more men.

Tom's eyes narrowed. Were they here because of the cloaked figures?

The siblings weren't paying any attention to the companions. They were watching Tom. They felt betrayed and wanted answers. He needed to tell them the truth.

They already planed to sneak out from their bedrooms that night and sneak in the Court, corner Tom and demand some answers. The problem was sneaking in the Court. But there was no way they will successfully corner Tom out of it.

Tom had tricked them for the last time, and next time he lies to them, he can start counting them as enemies, not as friends.

Mrs. Gray noticed the tension and tried to lighter situation with some small talk. Her attempt was unsuccessful. The kids were all in their own thoughts not paying much attention to anything around them and she was getting worried. She had not interfered last time when Edwen and Tom argued letting them figure out everything by themselves, but that didn't mean that she hadn't known about their quarrel. And now that she thought about it, maybe she should have said something. Anyways, now she has to find out what was going on with them.

"Mum, can we stay at the Court a bit when we arrive?" Artemisa questioned.

"We really need to talk with Tom about something important," Edwen added.

Tom made a face. This wasn't good.

"I'm tired. We can talk tomorrow, right? I'm sure it could wait." Tom said.

"Of course it can't," Artemisa said, smiling sweetly at him, "It's really important Tom. You know that."

"Besides it shouldn't take that long," Edwen continued.

"Exactly. You'll be able to go to bed in no time," Artemisa cut in.

"I'm sure you wouldn't take long, but I need to meet elders early tomorrow to discuss my training. And you'll have to get up early too." Tom countered.

Edwen and Artemisa were losing the argument and weren't overly happy about it, until their mother engaged in conversation, "I think that you should all spend a night at Court and work out your issues."

She turned towards one of the men surrounding them. "I'm sure you can take them to Court from here, I have some other things to do."

The man's silent nod was the only answer.

Inside his head Tom was ranting and raving at himself as well as a few other people. Dammit! He was in huge trouble now! Edwen and Artemisa are going to hate him for sure. Why had he wanted friends in the first place? He sure couldn't remember the reason now!

He had a chance of the snowball in hell of getting out of this mess. All of his intelligence and craftiness wasn't going to save him now, nor will any other of his scheming talents. Why did Misa and Ed had to be so intelligent in the first place? If they weren't, everything would be soooo much easier. It would have been so easy to come up with a story; to come up with a lie, a little voice in Tom's head added.

As the double-door of the Court closed behind them, siblings eyes hardened and fell upon Tom with the betray obvious in them, but without a hint of forgiveness.

Tom almost regretted lying to them._ Almost_. But he didn't. Because after all, he had a good reason. And technically he hadn't _lied_ to them; he just hadn't told them the whole truth either.

Yeah, like that excuse was going to work. He was in for a long nasty drive. Tom sighed. As long as he keeps his composure, he might get away with only a few scratches and without any scars.

To be honest, he was slightly afraid that he lost their trust and that he wouldn't be able to get it back. They might be just eleven and twelve years-olds, but they weren't idiots. They wouldn't forgive him everything every time. So Tom just prayed that they forgive him everything this time, and he wouldn't lie to them anymore or keep secrets that could hurt them... or he would at least be more careful while doing it.

Tom waited for one of them to start talking first. He, after all, had nothing to say.

Artemisa chose one random room and entered it, Edwen and Tom following her. They all set in silence for another few minutes.

Edwen didn't know what to say. He already told Tom once that keeping secrets, lying and manipulating isn't how you treat your friends. He thought that whatever was wrong in Tom's brain clicked back to the right place. Apparently not.

Artemisa was trying to calm down before she started the long argument they knew was about to come. It was weird how much she copied Tom in some things, even when she was furious at him. She and Edwen looked up to him so much, she especially. Tom had such a huge role in their life, they were idolizing him. Maybe that was the reason it hurts so much to be betrayed by him. Tom had a major impact on the way they think and act. And now, that impact was going to backfire.

Taking one last calming breath Artemisa started and said, "Would you like to explain to us how are you connected to Voldemort? We thought you were trapped in diary since you were fifteen."

"I _was_ trapped in the diary since I was fifteen." Tom said. "I... I myself didn't know I was connected, if you could call it a connection, to Voldemort..."

He looked up to their faces. Tom didn't know why, but at that moment he decided to tell him everything. He was too afraid that they would see through he lies, and become even more suspicious. Then he would lose them forever.

"Wait here, I need to bring something."

Tom left the room and ten minutes later returned to the room with sober green book, his diary.

"I'll show you the pages I wrote in the diary. Excerpts should explain some things, I'll explain the rest."

_**March, 19th 1940.**_

**England lost on some south battlefield to Germany, I don't even know why I'm writing about Muggle war but I still do. I hope England wins the next ****battle**.

**I have an amazing idea, idea that will allow me to live in another time, another era.**

**The idea came to me while I was doing a research for my Transfiguration homework. I connected some of the things I read with the last homework from Ancient Runes. It's a weird and not very likely connection, which is probably why no-one ever tried what I'm about to do.**

**It's going to be complicated to actually create a spell and even then there would still be a problem of me just disappearing from the world. I can't do it. Especially with Dumbledore watching my every move. I will need to leave some kind of clone behind, a fake me that wouldn't raise any suspicions.**

**I'll have to think about it a little bit more.**

**...**

_**August, 29th 1940.**_

**London was under attack again. The s****treets reek of death. Muggle-made military ****airplanes are flying above the London all the time. It's overly depressing.**

**I'll be returning to school soon, then I'll be able to test a few spells I created and see if any of them would actually work. I hope that at least one will.**

**I still have a problem with my replacement. A huge problem. Or well maybe not so huge, but it depends if this whole Grindelwald-connected incidents continue to happen in England and take an even greater alacrity. If that does happen I have a great idea.**

**...**

_**November, 11th 1940.**_

**Bad news. Really bad news. ****Not a singe one of my spells worked. Not even half worked. ****There are too many problems, that even listing half would take forever.**

**And some more bad news; Grindelwald was concentrating on his home country, so the number of attacks is reduced right now. ****Or maybe that's good news since it looks like I'll be stuck here and wouldn't need the replacement in the first place.**

**And even more bad news, the Muggle war is heating up even more (if that's possible)**

**...**

_**February, 7th 1941.**_

**Bulgaria is in huge chaos. I guess that means _bye, bye Mudbloods._**

**Anyway, back to the original subject I wanted to write about; ****I think I figured where the mistake was. And I can work the spell out. I'll just need to do it in an old fashion way, so to say.**

**It will need a few more things, but I think I have a good start this time.**

******Oh, right, England won a few battles with her new alliance.**

**...**

_**March, 29th 1941.**_

**Things are heating up in England again. Now that ****Grindelwald controls a big part of Bulgaria, his followers are starting to spread around Europe. ********Since I'm slowly getting somewhere with my _project,_ that's good news. I will finish the spell and be able to create my replacement.**

**I don't know any news about Muggle war.**

**...**

_******Jun, 1st 1941.**_

******Summer brake is starting soon. Back to the death smelling London I go. I'm gonna die young if this spell doesn't work. ********Summer brake will crate a big pause in my research as well. But since it's almost finished, this will be a **good time to look everything trough once again to make sure everything was going to work out perfectly.

**While I have a great idea about creating my clone, I still don't know how to make him Parseltongue. I do have an idea that would probably make him mental but who cares, Dumbledore thinks I am anyway.**

**...**

**_September, 3th 1941._**

**I found a perfect person to become a new me. He should be honored. ****He will be staying in Hogsmeade for another two weeks which gives me a perfect opportunity to act. ****I would just need to wait for an incident or carefully cause one myself. I'll see. I have a feeling it will have to be the later one so I should probably start planing, just in case.**

**I want to escape this time so much. Muggle war is getting worst be every passing day and so is the magic one.**

**...**

_**September, 15th 1941.**_

**Kidnapping, if you can call getting rid of one of the Grindelwald's followers for the greater good that way, was a complete success.**

**I deleted all of him memories and will start trying to make him speak Parseltongue before putting my memories in his head.**

**I did a slight modification with Polyjuice potion, so now it will change the person who drinks it forever in the other one (growing included and all). I'm such a genius. No-one has ever done this before. I'm sure of it.**

**I have a card to get away from all the dying and depression in my hands.**

**...**

_**October, 20th 1941.**_

**Have you ever thought abut combining two brains together? I did.**

**I combined a brain of one snake and of my little idiotic clone together. It wasn't a complete success but it will do.**

**I already told the basilisk to listen to him, as he is my replacement. To say that basilisk wasn't happy would be an underestimate, but it listened, ...for now, anyway. Who knows, it might kill my fake self later on.**

**It's time to start putting my memories in that empty head of my clone. He could use them.**

**And I should go back to correcting the spell, again.**

**To much news about Muggle war to count.**

**...**

_**November, 25th 1941.**_

**The damn spell is giving me problems, but the rest of the plan had gone smoothly so far. ****I can just hope it will continue to. ****The spell is giving me a headache though.**

**Just a little longer. Just a bit more and it will be finished.**

**I'm not going to give up no matter what. I have to get away from all this disaster.**

**...**

******_December, 5th 1941._**

**I finally finished it!**

**After months of trouble and hard work, I finally succeeded. ****I completed the spell and now I can leave this time forever. ****I did something no-one had ever done before.**

**In a few days, in the time of full moon I will enter this diary and live in it till the time comes for me to exit it. All of the writing will be sealed in together with me and only be visible when I exit the diary.**

**I am special, I always knew I was, and this just proves it. I'm finally getting away from it all. I'll have a chance to live again.**

**...**

Tom took his diary back, took a deep, calming breath and started, "See, I'm not connected to Voldemort at least not in any blood related way. I am kind of responsible for his existence. I was the one who created the other Tom Marvolo Riddle, my duplicate, the one that later becomes Lord Voldemort. But I never thought that will happen. I didn't even know what happened to my clone until a year ago."

Tom finally looked at the siblings. He was afraid of what he might see on their faces. There shock and confusion in silver eyes of his adopted brother. Edwen still didn't know what exactly to make out everything. He needed time to think.

Artemisa, on the other hand, had a completely blank expression. She was so much like Tom some times that it was scary.

Edwen was still naive for a twelve-years-old, much more than his younger sister. Tom was surprised every time how sheltered Edwen was, especially considering the place he was being prepared to take from his father one day. Tom always guessed that the reason Artemisa wasn't as naive as her brother was her lack of obedience. She never listened to anybody and got in all kinds of trouble all the time. Unlike her older brother.

Tom wished he knew what she was thinking. He was sure she was out of shock a long time ago. So she was making a new picture out of him. Giving his personality darker shades.

Edwen seemed to be getting out of shock too and coming with his own darker pictures of Tom.

Tom could feel he was losing them. He could feel them putting a wall in between, so they could separate. And he couldn't do anything, he couldn't say anything.

He created this mess and he was going to have to learn to live with it. He wasn't going to beg for their understanding. If they did't understand him in the first place than he doesn't need them.

But he did wish that they said something... anything.

Everything would have been better then this silence.

...

_"Say something."_ Tom pleaded in his mind.

...

_"Anything."_

_..._

The silence was dragging on. Tom just couldn't stand it anymore. He slowly got up and wishing a silent good night, left the room.

Edwen looked at floor.

What he and Misa just learned was... anything but easy to get over.

Tom had successfully created the most powerful Dark wizard of all times. Not to mention, he stole someones life so he could create a better one for himself. It was not right, even it that someone was a follower of Grindelwald's. It just wasn't right. He lied to them. He wasn't the person he pretended to be. He was nothing like the person they thought he was.

Edwen heard quiet sobs coming from his left. He hugged his little sister. Artemisa had been trying so hard to control herself while Tom was in the room, she didn't want to show him how much the truth hurt her. But the second he left the room she started crying.

She looked up to Tom even more than her brother did. She felt empty, like someone had just ripped her all apart and then just placed a burning skin like empty shell to be her.

Actually, someone did rip her apart. The person she admired the most did. Tom Riddle, her best friend, did. If she can even consider him a friend. The person she did consider a friend doesn't exist.

Edwen felt like crying himself. He felt hurt, betrayed, scared. He felt anger, sorrow, confusion. He felt all of it, mixing, wanting to explode. And on top of it all, he felt utterly helpless.

He didn't know what to do or think anymore. He wanted to say something to his crying sister, but he didn't know what. He wanted to comfort her, but didn't know how.

He was so helpless, and hurt.

* * *

Tom walked down the hallway leading to his bedroom.

He felt empty. A feeling he remembered from those cold and lonely days in orphanage. Days before he decided he didn't need anyone. Days when he still wished for a family, for friends. Why did he have to return to those wishes when he met the siblings? Why did they had to change him so much? Why couldn't he stay the same cold and distant person which hadn't needed anybody, the cold person he vowed he will become?

He wasn't that person. He could pretend he was, sure. But with pretending the emptiness wouldn't go away. He wasn't the person who lived all those years ago in the diary, who created the all mess. True, he didn't regret a single thing and he never would. He could do it all over again. He could still torture without a second thought. He still didn't care about all the people that died in the war agents Voldemort.

But Tom now had people he cared about. And he was hurting them. Maybe he is just incapable to love. Or maybe he is hurting the people he cared about, because he still didn't know hoe to love, but he could learn. He wanted to learn if that meant the emptiness would go away.

Turning around he returned to the room Edwen and Artemisa were in.

He stopped for just the second in front of the big wooden door, just enough time to register sobs coming from the inside and for the feeling of knife cutting him to deprive him of air, before he entered the room.

Siblings looked up at him. Artemisa quickly wiped out her tears and looked at the floor. Edwen gave him a cold stare that cut trough him like the sobs he heard coming from Artemisa.

Trying to compose himself Tom fell silent for a few moments.

"I'm sorry... for hurting you. But I'm not the same uncaring person I was when I first met you two. I changed. I know you have absolutely no reason to trust me ever again... But I really did change. I do care about you two. You were the first real friends I ever had and... And the reason I couldn't tell you the truth about spell and everything else was because I was afraid of losing you."

"I grow up alone, without any friend or family. No one ever wanted to be my friend. They either thought I was a freak or wanted my power and intelligence. No one ever wanted to be my friend just because of me. The way I am. I grow up vowing to never need anybody in my life, to never trust anybody. It's... it's hard to have everything I once dreamed about but couldn't have. Something I discarded as unimportant and overrated."

"Can you gave me another chance?"

Siblings didn't know what to say. They had never seen Tom being so sincere and they highly doubted they would ever again. His expression was open and real, and so was the hurt in his deep dark onyx eyes.

They wanted to believe him. They wanted to give him another chance. But they didn't know if they could trust him anymore. Maybe they should try to build up their friendship one more time.

"I'll wait for your answer however long is needed." Tom said silently and once again left the room.

Artemisa looked at Edwen. She wanted to give Tom a second chance more than anything. She needed to.

Edwen looked at her. He waited for her to say what ever she had to.

"I think we should gave him another chance." Artemisa voiced out.

Edwen looked away. He knew things would never be the same. Not even if they give Tom that second chance. Now they new that there was a dark, deadly part of Tom always waiting somewhere deep in him. They now knew things about him, that they never imagined.

Noting would be the same. This is either going to connect them more than anything else could, or was going to separate them forever. Well not giving him a second chance was going to do it anyway.

Turning back to his little sister he agreed, "Yes, we should give him a second chance. But building this friendship again is going to take a lot of hard work and trust, that I'm not sure I now have. Still I wish for it as much as you do Misa, so I'll give it a try anyway."

His sister gave him a small smile, before asking, "Should we go and tell Tom we are willing to gave him a second chance but he will have to work really hard?"

Edwen thought about it for a moment before answering with a smile, "Nah, let him wait and worry a little, he deserved it anyway."

Artemisa gave a short laugh as answer.

Outside, leaning against the door, Tom smiled from relief and happiness. They were going to gave him another chance and right now that all he needed. The emptiness he felt just minutes ago was gone and he would do anything to make sure it never comes to hunt him again.

* * *

**Author's note: **Another chapter is finished.

=)

Tell me what you think.

...

Thank you for blah, blah, blah.

Same every time, I don't know why I even write authors note every time. Chocolate pencil beta read this chapter.


	26. Legend I wan't to find

**26. Legend I wan't to find**

"Stefan!" Tom called out after the tall boy.

"Oh, if it isn't Tom Riddle. I haven't seen you in a while. Almost two years if I'm not mistaken," Stefan said in a slightly bitter voice.

"Ugh! You aren't the only one. I was either at Hogwarts or stuck with Elders, studying. Trust me, I wish I had more free time. I haven't played chess in forever!"

Stefan's face softened, "In for a game then?"

"You bet!"

They found an insulated spot and placed the pieces on the board. The game started; interrupted now and then with catch up talk.

"You seem to be overworked," Stefan said as he moved one of his bishops.

Tom looked up from the chess board, and then looked up again. Moving his knight, Tom sighed. "There was something I wanted to ask you, actually."

Stefan's face looked slightly curious, but his attention was still mostly focused on the game.

"I was wondering about some spell books. Are there any spell books that are kept in secret?"

"A few," was all Stefan said.

"Like?" Tom questioned.

"Why are you interested in those books, Tom?" Stefan countered.

"I had a political class yesterday and it made me question some things about the working of the island.''

"And you are going to answer to your questions with spell books?''

"Hidden spell books," Tom corrected, "You see, I thought that this island worked as a whole- three fortresses answering to one castle and all the castles and fortresses being under Court's command."

"It is that way." Stefan confirmed.

"Really? How is it, then, that every fortress has its own spell book that it doesn't share with anybody else?"

"It is done for protection Tom. And every fortress has its own specialty."

Tom just raised a brow.

"You don't know that?" Stefan sighed. "I'll explain. You already noticed that every one of the five castles has its own element that they are best at using. And the fortresses they control are also best at using the said element."

Tom just nodded.

"The elements are the nature four: earth, air, fire, water and the extra one, lighting. Lighting includes all kinds of illuminated spells, or should I say, light magic. The fortresses control the same elements as their master castle, and alternately surround the island. The things one element includes aren't too strict. For example of the three fire fortresses, one is controlling lava which is a mix of earth and fire, one is controlling fire and one is controlling healing effects of fire as well as fire connected potions. Their master castle controls all of that, but it doesn't mean that it has every spell the three fortresses have, far from it. Ever one of the three fire fortresses has a spell book with their most powerful spells that the other one don't know, all the same the master castle has a book or more likely a few books of their most powerful spells that others don't know. Same goes for every element."

"Also, the reason you are trained to do certain things by the certain elders from the certain castle or fortress is because every element is specialized in something. Lighting is best at healing, Earth at defense, Fire at attack, Water at strategy and Air at physiology. I don't know anything about the way the books you asked about are passed from one generation to another, but I think it's a more complicated tradition than it looks. One more thing Tom, even if you are living in the Court, do not expect them to tell you all of their spells. You will have to wield all the elements, but that doesn't mean you'll have the access to their most powerful spells."

Tom nodded. He already knew there were a lot of spells he couldn't find in Court's library and couldn't gain access to in other libraries. But what interested him the most was a completely different thing.

"Are there any Dark magic books?"

"I've heard only stories about those, same legends like Protectors or The Prophesy. I don't think they are true."

_"Oh, they are true."_ Tom thought for himself. "Tell me the stories then."

"Interested in learning Dark magic?" Stefan questioned.

"Interested in figuring out all the secrets of the island." Tom answered.

"That's going to take forever."

"Maybe, maybe not. Are you going to tell me what you know or not?"

Stefan's eyes gained a calculated look. "It depends. Are you going to inform me if you find anything that would prove that the library of Dark magic arts exists?"

"I can give you the proof right now."

Stefan's face turned thoughtful. "Fine, I'll tell you. The legend is more or less similar to the one of Protectors. Some freaks keeping the library a secret, the main difference is that they move library from one chateau to another from time to time, so it's almost impossible to find it. They are a smaller group then Protectors, there is just few of them and moving the library around is the only way to protect it."

There was a silence, and then Tom erupted.

"The hell? How am I supposed to find the library if it's moving around secret rooms all the time? I don't even know if I should start with one of the fifteen, or the big five, or the Court!"

Stefan shrugged. "Your problem, not mine. And I can't believe you even think it's true. But you promised me a proof for its existing. So talk."

Tom cursed under his breath, before answering, "Umm..., yeah, well you see... the Protectors and The Prophesy are true, so I just figured out that the story you told would be as well."

Stefan blinked. "That's your proof?"

"Well yeah, kind of."

"How do you know the first two exist?"

"I met the Protectors and heard the Prophesy."

There was a silence from Stefan, and then a nod.

"I'm in," Stefan said at last.

"In?"

"You can't find the library by yourself, Tom. Especially not when you're in that school. I can help you."

"But you said you didn't believe in the story."

"I changed my mind."

"And how are you going to help me? If there was anything you could do you would have already done it," Tom put out.

"I haven't done anything because I didn't believe the story. But let's make something clear, I am and for another few years would be the only person who can sneak in every castle except Court. You need my help."

Tom made a face. Unfortunately that was true. Stefan's family was moved to one of the master five (the lighting one) from the one of fifteen fortress. While he most definitely didn't know everything about every castle, he did know the main structure that was same for all of them.

"Fine. But do not even think about acting on your own," Tom said coldly, "You are going to inform me about every little thing. Clear?"

Stefan smiled a cat grin; a smirk of the predator spying its prey. "I always knew there was a darker you under the charming surface."

Tom took that as "yes, everything will be as you say", and nodded. "Great. I think there are some drawings and general building plans in the Court. I would need to check one more time. How about; you meet me again tomorrow at midnight at this same place and I will bring everything I find?"

"See you than, my Lord." Stefan said with a taunting smile on his face and left.

Tom felt his blood run cold.

Dark Lord. Lord Voldemort.

Those words rung in his head. Stefan couldn't know, could he? He couldn't know that it was Tom who created a monster. That had to stay a secret. Dammit! Why do those things always happen to him? Was fate never on his side? Kicking rocks on his way towards Court, Tom memorized in his brain to question Stefan until he knew every single detail about where that Lord thing came from. Maybe he was just joking because of the prophecy.

"Yeah, keep hoping," Tom whispered to himself. Looks like old saying was true, hope really dies fast.

* * *

Tom was irritated, extremely irritated. After all of his free time spent in the library searching for building plans he expected Stefan to show up on time. But no, that idiot was being late! Tom had been waiting for him for half an hour now, and he definitely had better things to do.

Tom heard something move on his left. Turning his head, he saw nothing but darkness.

"Stefan?" His voice rung trough the silence.

No answer came. Taking a deep breath Tom tried to calm himself a little. His heart was beating like the heart of the scared rabbit. Truth to be told Tom was afraid someone would found out what they were about to do. He was sure results of anybody finding out wouldn't be good.

Illuminated ball lighted the field Tom was on and he looked in its direction, there a cocked figure was hurrying in his direction.

Tom watched closely, the figure looked slightly taller than it should be. While Stefan was tall for a fourteen-year old, he was definitely not that tall. Maybe it was just the light. The figure got closer and now Tom was able to see the old hand holding the illuminated ball.

Trouble coming.

But before Tom had any time to react the figure took the hood of its head and the light fell on the old face of Sirius Mervelios III.

Tom felt his heart skip a beat.

_"Fabulous. Could anything else go wrong in this time? I'm starting to regret ever coming to it."_ Tom thought for himself.

"Tom, would you be kind enough to follow me, without any complain, back to the Court?" While it was put as a request, the tone of Sirius' voice was demanding obedience. If Tom thought that nothing worst could have happened when he saw Sirius' face, Tom just found out from his voice that disaster has yet to come.


	27. Alkaios Alexandros I

**27.** **Alkaios Alexandros I**

Tom was sitting on the bed in his room at Court looking at the floor. He could feel Sirius' intense gaze on himself, but he showed no reaction.

Someone had informed Sirius of the tonight's meeting; that much was obvious to Tom. The question was who? Was it Stefan or some eavesdropper that they didn't noticed? Stefan was already on Tom's watch out list.

"I could gave you a chance to explain yourself, but I do not find it necessary as I know why you were out this late at night."

Tom gave no reply, choosing to stay silent and glare.

"What I would like you to explain is why you told Stefan about the Protectors or the Prophecy. Only the selected few know for sure that those really exist, the rest see them as just legends. You placed a dangerous weapon in hands of someone you do not know you could fully trust. I must say I expected better Tom."

Again, Tom gave no reply.

"You are not going to answer me? If so let me tell you something boy, even of you are the one of the prophecy you cannot do everything as you please. Especially not now when you are powerless and easy to control. Do you understand what I'm saying Tom?"

Tom adverted his eyes to the floor and seemed to be ignoring Sirius.

"So this is going to be one way conversation? Fine with me. First off, you need to understand that everyone could leave this island if they choose to do so. They would be bound with a certain spell so that they never talk about the island, but that spell could be broken for all we know and if Stefan was about to live this island you would be giving your enemies the proof of your existence as well as the existence of supposedly long dead Protectors, not to mention all the things the boy knows about the island in the first place."

"Stefan could easily chose to leave this island Tom. Have you ever wandered why the boy was so good at strategy? Even if he is leaving in the lighting castle? Why his family was moved from one of the fifteen? Which one of the fifteen it was moved from?" Sirius pressed, eyes narrowing.

Tom looked up at Sirius' firm face and looked back to the floor.

"So you did, but it never crossed your mind to ask anybody about it. The boy's father was originally lord of the three water fortresses, but he got terribly sick and was moved to the lighting main castle when the boy was four and has been teaching Stefan strategy ever since. He is still tide up to bed, the prognoses aren't good. Do you know how easy it is for kids like Stefan to be manipulated? It's easy for them to turn their back to everything because they don't have much to lose to begin with."

Tom didn't say a word. He knew how easy all of those things are, he lived trough similar things once too. He knew how it feels to be alone and what people like that, like him, are capable of doing for attention. For any reason to live. He shut his eyes. He wasn't going to think about that. He wasn't! He has friends now! He. Is._ NOT_. Alone. He is not alone. He isn't alone.

_Loneliness. __Darkness. __Emptiness. __Hurt._

"What do _you_ know?" Tom asked quietly. He felt emotions that he normally had no trouble controlling boil inside him. "What do _you_ know about feeling of helplessness, of hurt and everything else that comes with loneliness?"

Tom looked up to see Sirius watching trough the window with a thoughtful expresion on his face and hurt in his old eyes, gray zircons that had seen to much during their life time and knew everything.

Tom looked back at the floor, while hes emotions wanted to surface and explode his body felt to tired to move. The river of different emotions was tiring him.

"I know more about those things then you could ever guess Tom. I know more about many things than you'll ever even suspect." Sirius' voice was tired too as he spoke, but it also had a hint of sadness in it.

Tom couldn't help but look up at the man standing in the middle of the room. The old face that was still looking trough the window eyes full of love and sorrow. It was the light of pure love in those zircons that reminded Tom of someone, of something he saw somewhere. The love so pure and simple, honest and forgiving like a naive child gave Sirius a much younger look and one picture crossed trough him mind.

_A picture he accidently stumbled over while he was wandering around Court._

_It was a dark night and Tom couldn't sleep, he felt someone passing in front of his bedroom door. He turned around trying to fall asleep again but it was no use. Getting out of the bed, he exited his room and started wandering around Court not thinking about anything of searching for anything, just walking around trying to get sleepy from the pointless night stroll._

_That was when he came across the big wooden door he never saw before. Looking around himself he concluded he was never in the hallway before either and the door in-front of him were the only one in the hall._

_The double-door was beautiful. It had two angels carved in its smooth surface, one playing the harp and the other one laying and listening to the beautiful music. Even thought there was nothing in __particular showing affection, Tom could almost feel the love connecting the angels. He felt curious about what was lying behind that door and had to take a gander._

_Carefully opening the door, like there was someone in the room that he didn't wan't to wake, Tom sneaked in._

_The room was full with covered things that Tom could only suspect were all kind of furniture, mirrors and pictures._

_One covered picture was positioned in the middle of the room on golden painting stand that was glittering under the moonlight. Removing the cover Tom saw the painting of the young man with loving gray eyes and chin-long blond hair. He had aristocratic features and posture and was watching the beautiful blond girl standing next to him. Her long wavy hair and see blue eyes were the picture of happiness and kindness. She looked like an angel._

_Love could be felt in the air just by looking at the picture, so Tom quickly covered it._

_He felt cold thrills running up his spine and in the same time he felt fascinated by the love that was so obvious even on the picture of the young couple._

_He wasn't sure if he felt hostility or appeal towards the picture; the couple in love that was on it. He felt sorrow too, but he didn't know if it was because they believed in something as stupid as love or because he never felt that way towards anybody and he never thought he would._

_Tom heard the door behind him bleep, his blood run cold from the sound and he didn't dare move._

_Only silence followed the creepy noise and Tom dared to look back, there at the door ajar the shadow was standing for just a second before it disappeared. Tom's heart skipped a beat. He was paler then a ghost, he wanted to get out of the room but in the same time he didn't dare get closer to the cracked door leafs to exit the room._

_Every hair on his body was raised from the gelid feeling Tom had. It took him almost ten minutes to claim down and convince himself he had just imagined the shadow and another five to make his legs move and exit the room. Then he spent another fifteen minutes trying to find his way back to his room, in the mean time cursing himself for not paying attention to where he was going and promising himself to find that room again during the day light, hoping it would feel less scary and empty._

That was it. That was what the look of love in Sirius' eyes reminded him of. The man on that picture had the same eyes, only his were happy and the eyes of the man in-front of Tom were sad. But those were definitely the same eyes, now that he looked closer even the posture was same, even the face features were. Sure, Sirius was older then the man in the picture, but it was incredible how much alike the two were.

Sirius looked at Tom, his face once again stern.

_"What am I thinking? Those two probably never even met each other and I thought for a second that they were the same person!" _Tom thought, _"Like anybody could live that long! It's pretty obvious that the picture was from the __member of the _family that lived in Court all those years ago."

Tom remembered how Salazar described the Muggle born girl that came to the island and the girl from the picture fit the description perfectly. And that would make the man next to her the prince. Therefor it wasn't possible for Sirius and the man on the picture to be the same person, no one can live that long. But a small voice in Tom's head reminded him that Salazar Slytherin is from the same time as the couple and he is still wary much alive.

_"True," _Tom had to agree with the reasoning of that little voice, _"but Salazar said that the whole family living in the court was killed."_

Sirius moved to sit in the sofa leaning against the wall opposite of the window.

"I've been watching people of the island for some time now and I know we have spies among us. Some of them are already dealt with, like that young man that took you to Salazar on your first night at the Court."

The shock that crossed Tom's face told Sirius that the boy was surprised to hear anybody knew Salazar was still alive.

"That boy that took you to him wasn't one of the Protectors, yet he successfully sneaked in. That raised alarms in my head, but I couldn't tell who has gone unnoticed and entered the caste. Not until you kept disappearing all the time and improving your use of magic much more than it was possible with the training you were getting from Protectors. I saw you practice once on your own and it was enough to confirm my theory. That was when I knew exactly who took you under his wing as a pupil. All the spells Salazar is teaching you are a perfect preparation for learning Dark magic. I always suspected that, that snake bastard was still alive and now he has his sneaky fingers around your throat."

"That old monkey is planing something Tom, and whatever it is I suggest you not to fell for his stories. I can't do anything right now to make him stop training you, but you can keep the cold mind and good heart and not follow his twisted ways. And stop making faces every time someone mentions heart to you. I'm sure you have one, like it or not, and Artemisa and Edwen think so too or otherwise they would have never forgive you for everything you did in the first place."

Why is everyone playing on the siblings-love-you-and-you-love-them card? If he _did_ have heart he was seriously considering ripping it out right now.

As if Sirius read his mind he said, "Love is a tricky thing. You can't live with it and you can't live without it. But remember Tom that relaying only on yourself and loving only yourself has as many weaknesses as loving others and being loved by others. You need to wisely choose which weaknesses are easier to became your strength."

Tom almost rolled his eyes. Almost. Sirius reminded him right now of the person he once knew and greatly disliked. Dumbledore.

Sirius smiled a sad smile, "You are still too young Tom, to actually understand everything that comes with love. And I'm not going to tire you with it right now. I'm sure you must sleep so we will talk more tomorrow."

Sirius exited the room and Tom got to bed quickly falling asleep.

* * *

Latter that night Tom woke up from his sleep his heart beating faster then it did in months. He had a nightmare. One he couldn't clearly remember.

But looking trough the fog that clouded his mind, he was sure he dreamed standing in front the double-door with carved angels. He thought he heard laughing coming from the room, a happy sound that rung like a bunch or Christmas bells together with a deeper smooth baritone.

Tom tried to enter the room, so he could see who was laughing inside the room, but the second his hand touched the wooden surface of the door the laughing disappeared and fire surrounded him, he quickly slipped in the room just to find it in the same state like when he first entered it.

He was sure that then in his dream when he entered a room someone was already in it, hidden by the shadows. But he couldn't remember anything after that moment of entering the room and feeling of not being alone.

Tom felt the urge to go back to the room and see the picture of the couple again. But he wasn't sure he would be able to find the room again. He had to try though.

Getting up from his bed, Tom left the room and started wandering around the Court, hoping he would came across the room again.

He has been wandering for hours before he finally found the hallway he was looking for from the start. Walking down the hallway he saw that one of the wooden door's leafs was slightly opened.

Curiosity took over the fear and Tom got closer to the door. It is said that curiosity killed the cat. While Tom's curiosity still didn't kill him, it sure did put him in some terrible situations. Still, he couldn't resist. He had to see the room again. And more importantly, he had to see if someone was already in it.

Slowly and quietly, like any sudden move or noise was going to break the spell the silence had placed over the place, Tom moved in the room.

Everything was as he remembered. The furniture, pictures and mirrors covered, the wonderful golden painting stall shining under the moonlight, picture on it also covered with fabric.

He stepped in front of the stall and removed the fabric; the picture was exactly as he remembered it.

"I always knew you would come back to this room, I just never thought that tonight would be the night of your returning to it." A familiar voice said somewhere from the darkness of the room.

Tom didn't turn. Since his brain recognized the voice and felt no danger coming, he didn't bother to think up who the voice belonged to. He was drawn to the picture.

"It's interesting how love can draw you to itself even when you do not believe in its power. Isn't it Tom?"

Tom looked around the room but he couldn't see the owner of the voice. He didn't care anyway.

Moving around the room he removed fabrics from other pictures and mirrors. There wasn't enough light in the room for Tom to clearly see all the pictures, but he could confidently say that all the pictures in the room were the paintings of the young couple. Either just one of them or both, but there wasn't a single other person appearing on those pictures.

Tom felt the figure move around the room to come closer to him.

"What is this room?"

"It used to be a private salon."

"Used to?"

"No one besides me entered this room for a long time."

The figure was now next to Tom. They were standing in-front of the picture of the young couple enjoying their free time in the garden.

"That's you on the picture, isn't it?" Tom asked in a hushed voice.

He saw from the corner of his eyes that the figure nodded.

"And that blonde angel was my fiancé." The familiar voice said with sorrow and love.

"She died?" Tom questioned.

Silenced fell on them. And after a long time the figure finally answered with a sigh, "Yes, she is dead now."

That wasn't really the way Tom meant the question, but he knew better then to push it.

The figure moved to sit on one of the covered sofas near the light and Tom followed it. He could now see the face of Sirius and it looked older then ever, but his eyes were innocent and pure like the eyes of a child.

"Does Salazar know that you are still alive?"

"No. Only Protectors know who I really am."

"How did you survived?"

"It's a long story. But I guess I could tell you the main parts as a short one. As you now know Sirius is just a mask I hid behind for years. My real name is Alkaios Alexandros I. I was the oldest son of one of the greatest Lords this island ever had. The girl from the paintings, Penelope, was my fiancé. She was also a Muggle born."

"I was around eighteen when the island was under attack. There were many sacrifices done during that war. In order to save island and it's secrets my father ordered a huge part of families, who voluntary agreed to die so others could live, to pretend to be Protectors, while the real ones were ordered to hid in the shadows. My younger brothers were among the front lines in the battle. Father didn't allow me to join. He said that Protectors would need a reliable leader. He preformed a complicated spell that prolongs ones life fifteen times on me, but he died right after it. He was too old to do it all by himself as powerful as he was. His last words to me were 'We were betrayed son, pleas forgive me. It was my trust in people that lead us in this position. Be able to forgive and forget and you'll be happy. After all she was tricked just like I now see I was. Tell your mother and your brothers and sisters I love them.' His words were alarming to me. But before I could ask what he was talking about he died on my hands, I couldn't believe it. I didn't want to believe it. I needed him. The whole island did."

"I knew that that wasn't the right time to inform my family of my father's death. Furthermore, I was worried about Penelope; I didn't want to believe that the girl my father was talking about was her. It's funny how we are willing to believe anything other than the truth. I went searching for her, while people around me were dying, but I couldn't found her anywhere. I can't tell you how much I loved her, how much I still do. I never found out what happened to her. Where she was, what she was doing. Why she did it, if she really had done it."

"Why did you even fell in love with her?" Tom questioned.

"With time you'll learn Tom that love is neither logical nor predictable. It can happen in the most unlikely moment with the most unlikely person. It is a feeling to look forward too and watch out for. But you know what a good thing with heart is? It can break only once, all the rest are just scratches. One loves truly only once in a lifetime, Tom, even if one isn't aware of it. I, fortunately, was aware of the love of my life. And even now when I finally accepted that her being on this island broth the disaster to it, I would still like to turn back time for just a day or two more with her. Just to hear her laugh again, to see her again. Memories of her are killing me. Memories are worst than any curse you could come across Tom, but I'm sure you already know that."

They set in silence for a long time. Alkaios lost in his memories. Tom thinking about everything he had heard. It was easy to laugh in the face of someone you detested when he talked about love, but it was hard to do it in the face of the person he well not really admire, but does respect and like. Actually, to have a person like that talk about the love, made him question his own beliefs.

Tom got up ready to leave, he was almost at the door when Alkaios said, "Don't trust Stefan, Tom. He is still a child and could be colored in any shade; therefor I'm not going to take any drastic measures, it would be your job to make him a trust worthy comrade. But if he does cross the line and betray to much information to Salazar, I'll have to kill him. Also, be careful around Salazar. I know he is your ancestor and you probably feel connected to him, but trust me when I say that he doesn't feel the same connection. He wan't your powers and brains, as most others will once they found out about your existence."

Tom just nodded. Once again his Slytherin friends entered his thoughts. Would they want to be his friends for the same reason? Or would they find the whole thing too dangerous to stay at his side no matter the reason? Maybe they would just stay on his side because of the friendship Tom thought they had. Not that he knew much about the friendships to begin with. But friends stick together trough tick and thin, or so he heard.

He needed sleep. Trowing one last look around the room, gaze sliding over uncovered pictures and mirrors and still covered furniture. He finally looked at the figure still siting on the sofa and looking at the full moon outside.

"Good night Alkaios," he said with a sad smile on his face.

"Good night Tom, if you need me now you know where to find me," tired voice answered.

Tom nodded and left the room.

The man stood up and started covering the paintings and mirrors again. It was to painful to look at those pictures, but in the same time he couldn't stay out of the room. He returned to it every night. it was like going to the grave of memories, place where ghosts of his past do exist. The room was a life he once thought he would have. Looking around it, Alkaios thought about his life. It seemed that the time had come for him to stop living in the past and start doing his best for the better future. He had an aching feeling that soon Tom would need him more then anyone ever did.

Besides, he wanted to be there for a boy. Over the years he grew to love him. Alkaios wanted to see the boy smile. He could tell that Tom didn't even know the meaning of happiness. But was slowly learning and Alkaios wanted to be there for him, to keep him on the right track. To be the figure of father the boy obviously never had.

He had seen Tom a few times watching the way Orlando talked with Edwen with a slight unconscious jealousy obvious in his eyes. Even though both Mr. and Mrs. Gray acted towards Tom as their own son, he obviously felt uncomfortable with their attention. More like relatives than actual parents.

He smiled. He could tell how awkward Tom felt when surrounded by open shoving of love and affection. The boy liked to think of himself as independent. He needed more subtile love. He needed somebody just to be there. For him it would be enough to just know that someone believes at him and is always on his side.

Covering last picture of his long dead love, Alkaios said, "Penelope my dearest, can you see me now. Are you happy for me? Tom would become the son I always wanted to have with you. I love you."

* * *

**Author's note:** As I promised this chapter is longer. =)

Nothing much to say abut it so I'll let you read which ever other stories you had in mind after this one. =)

Next chapter will be a huge mix of different places and chapters with their own story moment (unless I change something before next Friday, but I don't think I will)

'till next chapter

Ciao, ciao


	28. Tension rising

**28. Tension rising**

Looking around the platform 9 and 3/4 Idris was trying to spot her friends. She saw Din a mare minute after arriving at the station, but besides a little wave, Din hadn't payed her any attention. She felt awkward standing just a few feet away from him and acting like he wasn't there. But he was talking to his parents, maybe when he was finished he would greet her properly.

"Mrs. Oakby, Idris." Laurentia greeted with a huge smile on her face. She was running in front of her parents in a cute pink leather coat.

Idris' mother greeted her kindly before turning to talk to her parents.

"I missed you!" Laurentia said dramatically, hugging Idris.

She just laughed before asking, "How was your vacation in France?"

"Fabulous! I had such a good time there! It really was sad you couldn't come with us. Emma's father thought me how to ski!"

"I still can't believe your parents let you go," Idris said smiling.

Laurentia lowered her tone and whispered to her, "That's because they believe Emma is a half-blood and, trust me, they weren't overly happy I was going to a Muggle vacation hotel. It took all of my bagging skills and million of puppy-eyes-looks for them to let me go. But it was worth it. I had a great time. Oh, and something really interesting happened while we were there. Fabius called Emma and sent her letters like, million times. She didn't answer a single one."

Than speaking normally again Laurentia asked, "Isn't that Din over there? Din! Din! Hi!" She called out waving happily, but only got a light wave in response. Looking confused she put her hand down.

"Yeah," Idris said, "_that _happened to me too. And I really have absolutely no idea why."

Laurentia's attention was, however, already somewhere else.

"Forget Din, who is that girl with Daisy over there?"

Idris turned and saw Daisy talking with an older girl.

"That's her cousin, Demetria, who came from some Italian school to study at Hogwarts. Don't tell me you don't remember! Daisy had been talking about her nonstop."

"Her name doesn't sound very Italian to me, but whatever." Laurentia commented.

"I don't think the girl is Italian, I think she just grow up there because her father is working there." Idris explained.

"Really? I wonder what she is like. Snobbish probably." Laurentia said in an thoughtful voice.

"Like you are the one to talk." Idris commented.

"Oh, thank you Idris. That was so sweet of you. Guess who will be my new best friend."

Both girls laughed.

Tom arrived at the station with Edwen and Artemisa just ten minutes before the train left. They were seen off by siblings' parents and Alkaios. Tom was surprised that no more men followed them to the station, but he guessed that the two men with them are considered more than powerful enough to be their only guards. Well he knew for sure that Alkaios was; he just couldn't believe he underestimated Mr. Gray so much.

"Tom come over here for a moment." Alkaios called him. Taking some book out of his cloak he gave it to Tom.

"This is for you. This book has many spells that will help you communicate with people at huge distance as well as some other interesting spells. I'm not going to rob you of finding the most interesting ones by yourself," he said winking at Tom.

Tom smiled. "Thanks."

He leafed through the pages once before looking back at Alkaios, "Will I be able to connect you too with this spells Alk... Sirius?" He quickly corrected himself. He got used calling Alkaios by his real name, those last few days at Court.

"Yes, you will. Learn the easiest one first so you would be able to call me for help if you end up having trouble with the more difficult ones. If you do end up having trouble, ask me. Those aren't the spells you could play with."

Tom nodded.

"Off you go then." Alkaios said smiling.

Tom walked to say goodbye to Mr. and Mrs. Gray too, and when he was finished he noticed his blond Slytherin friend waving at him. Waving back, he pointed at siblings showing he planed to be with them on the train. Devlin nodded but then draw out his wand and wrote in the air "you batter come for an hour or two to our compartment or we would never forgive you", Tom laughed and drawing his own wand out wrote "I'll consider not coming then". Devlin shook his head smiling and turned toward his parents.

Emma had just entered the platform with her father when Fabius came towards her.

"God morning Mr. Rynolds, Emma" Fabius said smiling.

"Hi." Emma mumbled trying to force a smile.

"Good morning." her father greeted back before turning to Emma, "Is there anything else you need help with? Should I put your suitcase in the train?"

"I can help her with it." Fabius jumped in, "And my parents are over there, they could help if anything needed."

He shot a huge kind and charming smile in Mr. Rynolds' direction, and then turned to Emma with the same smile still firmly placed on his face.

"I really appreciate your help." Emma's father said kindly and then turned to his daughter again. "I'll be going then little angel, since my flight is scheduled for the next hour. Have a nice trip."

"You too dad." She smiled brightly.

Turning again to Fabius Mr. Rynolds said, "It was nice seeing you again Fabius, have a nice day."

"You too, sir."

As he walked away Fabius commented, "Nice memory.", just as Emma said, "Smooth."

Emma started walking away leaving her suitcase behind for Fabius to drag.

"Why haven't you answered any of my calls or letters?" He questioned her as soon as he caught up.

"I was avoiding you." She answered bluntly.

"Obviously. But I wonder why?"

"Shouldn't that be obvious by now too?" Emma asked.

"Look, I already know that Tom Marvolo Riddle from that time became Voldemort. And, I'm 99% sure that he is the ancestor of the Tom we know." Fabius said.

"If that's the case then why are you still trying to... what ever you are trying to do? I don't know more than you already do Fabius. It's not like Tom told me his life story or the history of his family or anything."

"I know that. But... Will you stop for a second so we could talk normally without me running after you?"

Emma stopped and faced Fabius.

"Fine, talk."

"At one point I accidently came over Tom's diary and..."

"He keeps a diary?" Emma cut in with her question, her voice full of disbelief, "Why is someone with photographic memory keeping a diary?"

"How should I know? Besides that's not important, and... he has a photographic memory? How do you know he has a photographic memory?"

"Idris told me."

"And she knows because...? Actually, never-mind. The point is, that I think there is more to all this Tom-Voldemort thing and we should..."

"Stop right there," Emma cut him again, "How exactly is that any of our business?"

Fabius stayed silent.

"Well?"

"Don't you want to know the truth?" He finally countered her question with his own.

"What truth? And I certainly do not care why some idiot decided to change his name and become the Dark lord."

Fabius thought about this for a moment.

"First off, judging by school reports Tom wasn't an idiot. This is why it's not logical for him to make some of the mistakes it is known Voldemort made. Don't you agree with me?"

"No." Came a short answer.

"You once mentioned you like to watch all those Muggle shows about mysteries of the past, events, beliefs and legends. You like to watch someone uncover them." Fabius said slowly, his voice hushed and persuasive, "Well think about it Emma, this story could be even more interesting than the one you like to watch and you would be solving the riddle yourself."

"You are either spending to much time with Tom or you are Slytherin down to your toenails." Emma complained. She knew that she couldn't resist her curiosity and Fabius' persuasion for long, but she had to try. Yes, she wanted to know why, when and where the intelligent student, Hogwarts was once proud of, became Dark Lord. But she couldn't get rid of the feeling that there is something they really shouldn't know.

"So you want to find out as much as possible?" Fabius said, as his lips curved into a cat smile.

"You know Muggles have a saying that could be used to this situation; it goes something like curiosity killed the cat." Emma tried to counter one more time.

"If the said cat was more careful it wouldn't have died." Fabius countered.

"And by being careful, you mean not sticking its nose where it doesn't belong?"

"Not knowing is worst that knowing something Emma."

"If not knowing that something is dangerous, yes; but it could be the opposite way." She said.

"Well I guess we are going to find which way it is, when we uncover the truth."

"The truth that does not concern us!"

"We don't know if it concern us or not." Fabius put out.

"Oh, I'm sure it doesn't. I also sure that it's something we would be better not knowing."

"My intuition tells me something else."

"Apparently your intuition is wrong. I don't want to mess with Tom. We know him for only a year and a half, but I think we can already agree he isn't someone to mess with. You would just be digging your own grave if you cross him."

"Listen, I just want to find more about Voldemort a.k.a. Tom M. Riddle from that time. That shouldn't bother Tom at all."

"I can't see how we are going to find anything that isn't already known, but... yeah, you can cunt me in." Emma said in a defeated tone.

"Well if you haven't interrupted me you would have known how, but I'm in a good mood so I'm going to repeat myself, something that I, as you already know, don't do. I once saw Tom's diary. I have a feeling that all we need to know is in that little book."

"So the problem would be getting the book." Emma concluded.

"Or we could try and find out what Artemisa and Edwen know about the whole thing. I have a feeling that their knowledge is something we should really take in consideration. Besides, the girl likes you, you just need her to trust you too and than BAM. We would have every information we need."

"I'm not going to play with anybodies trust Fabius, I hope that's clear." Emma stated.

"Yeah, yeah. That leaves the diary as our only option..."

"Emma." A lazy tone greeted, "you look beautiful in the sky blue coat, like a little princess from one of your Muggle fairy tales."

"Devlin!" Emma turned around and hugged him.

Fabius rolled his eyes. The one most opposing to Mudblood being in Slytherin is now doing his best to charm her all the time.

"Fabius."

"Devlin."

"My eyes just spotted Devlin!" Idris announced. "Let's go!"

"Well, well, well. Look who's here." Fabius said when he saw Laurentia and Idris walking towards them.

"You missed us?" Laurentia questioned in a mocking tone.

"I don't know how I spent a day without you, Laurentia dearest." Fabius answered smoothly.

"Me or a little curly haired girl standing next to the blond boy over there?" She questioned, pointing at Devlin and Emma.

Idris jumped in with her question, "It's a tough, isn't it?"

Seeing Devlin was watching him, Fabius quickly changed the subject, "We are still missing a few people aren't we?"

"I run in Tom just few minutes ago, he will be with Artemisa and Edwen during the trip." Devlin announced.

"Oh."

"What about Din and Daisy. Have anyone seen them?" Emma questioned.

"Daisy will probably be with that cousin she talked about last time. You remember? That one from Italy." Idris said.

They nodded.

"Din?"

Idris exchanged a look with Laurentia before answering, "_Yeah_...I wouldn't really count on him for joining us."

"Something happened?" Devlin questioned.

"We'll tell you at train." Laurentia answered.

* * *

"I see." Fabius said.

"What do you think was wrong with him?" Emma asked.

"Maybe his parents were angry on him or something." Devlin suggested.

"I don't think so." Laurentia said, "I mean if it was something like that he would have at least cast us a sad smile."

"Exactly," Idris agreed, "But besides the wave, he practically ignored us. That was completely un-Din-like."

"You think it's something serious?"

"I don't know. I just hope it's not."

The door of their compartment shoot open. They all looked at Daisy standing there.

"Hi everyone!" she said happily.

A few hellos were mumbled back.

"What' you talking 'bout?"

"New subjects we will have starting next year." Fabius answered immediately.

Everyone looked at his with questioning eyes (except Daisy). Aren't they going to tell her about Din?

"Boring," Daisy said, "Hm... Tom isn't here?"

"Are you looking for him?" Fabius questioned.

"No. I'm just surprised he isn't with you."

They all noticed that Daisy didn't mention Din's absence.

"Yes, well, he is staying with his adopted siblings," Devlin explained.

"Is that so?"

They all nodded.

Laurentia decided to try her luck.

"Din isn't here either," she put out.

Idris quickly understood what Laurentia was doing and added, "He seemed all serous when I saw him on the platform earlier."

Daisy looked out of the widow. "I have't seen him for a while, so I wouldn't know."

Sensing a lie, Devlin's eyes slightly narrowed. Everyone knew that Daisy knew Din since they were babies, after all, their parents were close friends.

Fabius gaze darkened too. Did she really think she could lie to them so easily? They knew her, some more, some less, even before starting Hogwarts. Something was going on with Din, and Daisy apparently knew what that something was. Or had a good guess at least.

Before anyone had a chance to question her anymore Daisy got up and saying, how her cousin is new here and doesn't know many people so she shouldn't leave her alone for long, left the compartment.

_(another compartment)_

"Tom, I was wondering if you could gave me your diary to read?" Artemisa asked.

Tom who was lively chatting with Edwen about some spells looked at her.

"It's kind of private thing, Misa."

"Oh, come on. Please. I just wan't to read more about the time you are coming from."

"You could read that from a history book."

"But it wouldn't tell me about everything you thought or felt."

"I don't think I wan't you to know that."

"You know, you could gave us the diary," Edwen agreed with his little sister, "We could return it to you in a month."

"I don't think I want you reading my diary."

"Look, nothing could be worst than the truth you already told us." Artemisa reasoned.

Tom knew better than to correct her. Edwen, sensing this, said, "We knew you aren't the same person you were when you started writing that diary Tom. But that past still is a part of you and we would be able to understand you better if you let as read the diary."

"Who said I wan't you to understand me." Tom countered.

"We know you do," Artemisa said, "After all, friends are there to understand you and be at your side even when no-one else is and we are trying to be your friends."

"I'm sure friends wouldn't be trying to get their fingers on _my_ diary."

"Well if they knew everything there is to know about you, probably not." Edwen admitted.

"But, we know how hard it is for you to have to talk about the life in the orphanage so we are trying to save you from the trouble of telling us." Artemisa informed him.

Tom had to roll his eyes. Their speech sounded almost like they practiced it. Looking at the siblings he thought about it for a moment. They were going to try and get the diary anyway and they wouldn't gave up until they had it; might as well make it into some kind of mutual agreement. He wanted their friendship to work after all.

"Fine, but you are getting only two weeks each and then I'm getting my diary back. Agree?"

"Yes"

"Yep, now gimme the diary."

Tom almost laughed at the expression of happiness on their faces. It seemed like allowing them to read his diary was a right move. Their trust was slowly growing again and giving them his diary made the base of that trust stronger. Giving them the diary was like telling them his every thought. It showed he trusted them too.

He was only hoping that everything they read in the diary would really pull them closer and not draw them apart. Good thing he kept his darkest thoughts in his mind only half expressing them on the paper, and he had a way of describing things so the diary was almost like a novel of some sort. They might forget they are reading his diary.

_"How pathetic. I actually wrote my thoughts and feelings into a book. If the story ends up having happy ending I might as well publishing it. It would be a huge hit."_ Tom thought. _"Good winning over dark. What a story. Geez,I really am going crazy, giving the diary and comparing my life to a novel. I better change my life-stile or I'll end up really acting in either a tragedy or love story. Ironic isn't it. Wanting to be different, to be special and ending up like a typical main character from the lame novel."_

_(back to the first compartment)_

"I don't even have to ask if we are all on the same page about this as I can already see that we are. What do you think is going on?" Idris asked.

"What's going on with what?" a smooth voice asked.

Everyone turned to see Tom calmly walking into the compartment.

Fabius told him the whole story short, before any girl had time to start speaking. He was sure Idris and Laurentia would take forever as they did the first time they were telling the story.

"So what do you think?" Laurentia asked.

"Maybe his family is having some problems." Tom suggested.

"But it's still not like Din to just ignore us." Idris put out.

"What if it's something serious?" Tom asked.

"I really hope it isn't. And Daisy would have told us if it was. Right?" Emma said.

"You are giving it to much thought, let it go for now. Gave him a few days," Tom said, "He would either be back to his old self by then or Daisy will slip whats going on. We all know she can't keep a secret longer than a week."

While they still looked thoughtful and concern, they had to agree that Din might just be having a bad day, a _really_ bad day.

"Anyone heard anything new about the cloaked people?" Emma asked after a short silence.

"Nothing." Tom said.

"Me neither." Idris agreed.

"I actually did." Laurentia said, "Devlin and I overheard our parents talking last night after the dinner at his home about false alarm or something."

"Exactly," Devlin continued, "It seems like they are disappearing. No-one saw them for weeks."

"That's strange." Fabius said.

"And it should be alarming news." Tom commented.

"If they are disappearing I don't see why." Idris said.

"Obviously because they are returning to wherever they came from with the needed information, whatever information it was they needed." Devlin said thoughtfully.

"Exactly."

"Maybe they aren't dangerous, like everyone thinks. They were some group meant to test the policy of the of the Ministries." Laurentia said.

"Wouldn't anybody wanting to test how Ministries work be dangerous?" Emma questioned, "I mean, you don't know what that information is going to be used for."

"Tom and I saw two of those cloaked figures last summer when we were in Diagon allay. And trust me Laurentia, they aren't going to use any information they have for good cause." Fabius said.

"You saw them?"

"Yes." Tom agreed, while trowing Fabius an irritated look. He might as well go from one compartment to another saying he saw the cloaked people.

"How did they look like?" Devlin asked.

And Fabius and Tom went to describing the cold chills they felt when they saw them, the power that seemed to be radiating from them, the mystery that seemed to surround them together with darkness and shadows.

Tom left little after that while the group talked about the hidden motives of the cloaked people as well as the locations they could be coming from. After long and tiring discussions about such a dark topic they finally started lighter conversation when Fabius mentioned some new programs and summer courses Hogwarts will be organizing this year with a few most respected school around Europe.

* * *

A cloaked figure entered a room full of other people sitting in the shadows. Walking quickly it came towards the front part of the room and bowed to the person sitting there on a throne.

"Report." The old voice commanded.

Taking a hood off a boy around fourteen years old said, "Tom wants to find the library of Dark magic arts. Also, Protectors are still alive."

Whispers started circling the room.

"Silence!" The old voice ordered, "Is there anything else?"

The boy stayed silent, looking at the floor.

"That wasn't much, I already knew that Protectors are alive."

"My lord, if I may ask something?" One of the man in the room questioned.

The old figure just nodded.

"How are we going to get the boy if Protectors are still alive? Not to mention that more and more of hidden islands and castles should be founding about the boy right now."

"Protectors are only as powerful as the leader they have. We need the boy to find who their leader is. Am I correct Salazar?" A man sitting on the first chair on the the right of the throne asked.

Salazar got up from his throne and started walking around the room, hands crossed behind his back.

"Right now I have Tom eating out of my hands. So getting the boy isn't the difficult part. It's keeping him. Protectors are probably watching his every move, even at Hogwarts. Being as well organised as they are they could easily take the boy back even if he comes here willingly."

"Should we wait for others to confirm his existence and attack, before acting?" Someone asked.

"Maybe... But we would need an alliance in that war. Prepare messengers, five of them. We will send them and try to gain as many alliance as we can."

"Right away." One of the younger attendees said, quickly leaving the room.

_(Miles away, at another place where it was probably break of dawn instead of late night)_

Room was filed with noise. Everyone had to say something about the newly found information.

"That's just a rumor, there's no way it's true."

"We have to find out if it's true! Otherwise we would be the too late for the race!"

"I finally lived to this day. I never thought it would come..."

"I'm telling you, if that gossip is correct I'm living the rest of my life as a poor man."

"Is he really that powerful."

"I heard he could hold..."

"... would be useful to..."

"You can't make me believe that."

"I heard he is just a kid..."

"...yeah I'm telling you, they said it's a girl, not a boy a girl!"

The big metal door opened and the noise quieted down immediately.

A man looking like he was in his late teens walked towards the center of the room. His posture was aristocratic and the way he walked royal. He had an aura around himself that demanded respect. He was the picture of power.

Finally stopping in the middle of the room he turned to face everyone. His eyes sliding from one face to other. Black eyes, so mysterious and deep were sizing up every person in the room. Intelligent and cold he was said to be able to rival the one of the prophecy.

Handsome and perspicacious, with eyes like two universes and hair colored by shadows, he ruled one of the biggest secret islands as well as a few smaller ones, which he successfully found and took control over. A demanding leader, yes; but also an extremely charming one. He could persuade you to walk off the cliff with only a few well placed words.

Silence was intense. People in the room all waited for him to start speaking. Older, younger, it didn't matter; he was the most important one.

He started talking. His every word well measured. Every move well thought off. The tension in the room was rising. It was obvious that hard times are coming. Even with the leader as capable as the one standing in the center of the room was, there will be a lot of deaths and sacrifices. Dark times were practically knocking on their door.

_(Yet another far away place)_

"We still do not know if he is the one of the prophecy, but he is powerful enough for us to still try and get him on our side."

"We can't waist our people if he isn't the one. It would be a waist. Many other islands and castles with good alliances would try to get him too."

"We need alliances on our side. But alliances we know we are more powerful the."

"I agree with you."

"Send the messengers."

_(Another place)_

"Yes we are sure that his powers are outstanding."

"If others still exist they will be coming for him too."

"We need to check if any of the castles we knew about sill exist. We are too small, if we are going to enter this we would need alliance."

"How many islands we don't know location of exist?"

"We don't know."

"That could be a problem for us then."

"I'm sure others don't know every island either, castles like us even less."

"We could take that to our advantage."

_(Another castle)_

"I'm telling you we shouldn't enter this war. We are to small and powerless to even try to compete with the most powerful ones."

"I have another suggestion. Why don't we wait a little and then try and join the winning side?"

"Why would they accept us? We would be nothing for the winning ones."

"Even they would have casualties and would be in need of additional help."

"How are we going to find the winning side. This whole war could happen without anyone besides the castles battling even noticing it."

Many different islands and castles were holding the meeting all around the old world. New world didn't have any kind of hidden island or castle that knew about the prophecy since their old civilizations were long ago destroyed.

Some wanted the power for themselves, other wanted to live the island and finally see the world and were using war as excuse, then those who thought that, that kind of power could and should be used for better things, like helping people, curing them, prolonging their lives. And then there were those who just wanted to keep the low profile and keep living as they did before the rumor of the one of the prophecy arriving started.

They all had different things in their mind, but what all of them saw, no matter of their ideals, is a war coming. A war that needed to stay as secret as possible or those who forgot the prophecy would join it too. And some didn't want more troubles and obstacles in their way, others didn't want even more innocent people dying. Their strategy had to be perfect and spying network unparalleled to win this.

And winning, no matter the consequences, was something they all had in mind.

* * *

"Alkaios?"

"Yes?"

"Fiorucci had returned."

"Bring him in." Alkaios said tiredly.

"Sir." The young man greeted.

"Fiorucci, have you found out anything?"

"Yes. The things are heating up. I checked as many locations as I could. Some of them are empty. Others are most definitely preparing for war."

"You may go. Take a few days to rest. You deserved it."

"Thank you sir."

The young man left the room and Alkaios stood up and started walking around the room. He would have to inform the lords of this new information. Looking trough the window, frozen glass blurring his vision Alkaios said to himself, "It had finally came to this. War. Another one I'll have to live through."

They might have a year to prepare for it. When the summer starts he would have to start training Tom on his own. With any luck the war will be capt at the lowest level for at least next two or three years. In that time, with his intelligence and talents Tom would be capable of protecting himself for biggest part and he would most definitely be able to run away from to dangerous things. Especially with most powerful people probably entering the war years after it's start.

Alkaios smiled, he could practically see Tom running away, so he could return later and destroy the enemy when he was least expected to act.

The boy needed to learn to care about his companions and he would be a perfect leader. All of his abilities entirely fit the roll. And Alkaios swore to himself that he would make sure that Tom does became the leader that island could look up to. He would also ensure that Tom lives trough this war no matter what.

Damn that snake. If he didn't let the cat out of the bag out the war could have been delayed for another few years! Fewer people would have died.

Walking out of the room Alkaios thought, _"The time is getting near father. Your spell is losing it's power. Soon I know Tom would be able take upon anybody, so I have only one person to take care for. The one responsible for your death as well as the death of my love, my family. The one trying to take the least thing I have in this life away from me. Salazar, I swear I will kill you."_

* * *

**Author's note: **Tell me what you think so far.

Important: My old beta wont be able to correct the future chapters of the story anymore and it will take me some time to find a new beta in her place. Therefor, I'm sorry for any future mistakes I might make. If you know any beta that would probably like to beta my story, pleas tell me.

Ciao, ciao ^.^


	29. Additional help

**29. Additional help**

The winter break was over and student were back in classrooms. The first day back in desks was spent whispering during lessons about the newest gossips and exchanging homework, that was supposed to be done during holidays, right before the bell rungs.

Crowded hallways were full of cheerful voices and happy laughter. Outside, the wind was blowing over empty snow covered yard. The temperature was too low for anyone to go outside, therefor all Herbology classes were dismissed and second-years Slytherins and Ravenclaws founded themselves spending their free period in their common rooms surrounding the fireplace.

Both Daisy and Din were back to their old selves and were lively chatting with the rest of the group. Non of them mentioned the previous behavior of either. No-one gave it much thought to begin with. Everyone just thought that Din had a bad day.

Everyone, except Tom. He was getting curious as way both acted the way they did. Din especially. He wasn't convinced Din just had a bad day or something like that. Tom was sure there was more to his bed mood. Some real family problems or some similar thing, and he was actually surprised that Din hadn't said anything to them.

Din was that kind of person which needed to share his feelings and thoughts at least a bit. Sure, he probably talked to Daisy. Still... And if he did talk to Daisy, how did she keep quiet about it? She didn't know how to keep a secret. If it was some huge problem Daisy would have asked them for help, she would want to help Din anyway possible.

On the other hand, maybe he was giving it too much thought because off all kind of secrets and mysteries that were surrounding him. He was all tied up in all kind of stuff right now. His head felt like spinning sometimes.

That was probably it, he was giving it too much thought. And he definitely had better things to do with his time. Or better to say he had more important things to spent his time on. He would however keep an eye on both Din and Daisy.

"Emma, I was wondering, you are pretty good at playing piano, right?" Tom questioned.

"I guess. Why?"

"I just thought you could teach me how to play."

Everyone looked at him.

"You want to learn how to play piano?" Idris questioned, her voice full of disbelief.

"It probably shouldn't surprise us this much since you want to learn practically everything. But piano? That's... interesting." Devlin said trying to stop himself from laughing.

Tom just rolled his eyes.

"I think it's cute," Laurentia said, "Imagine a boy playing you a love song on a piano."

Girls started giggling, while all boys (Tom included) made a disgusted faces.

"I'm sure I wouldn't be using any of my future piano skills for that." Tom said.

"Oh, I don't know. I could imagine you doing something as romantic as that without any problem." Emma taunted him.

"Well keep imagining it then, because that's the only way it's going to happen. In your imagination." Tom answered coldly.

"Imagine him giving you a huge bouquet of roses and then playing a balled just for you." Daisy said in a dreamy tone.

Girls started giggling again and Tom mumbled "Forget I asked."

Emma finally being able to stop her giggles said, "I could teach you how to play piano, but I'm not some super pianist myself, I hope you understand that. Besides, were are you going to find a piano we could practice on?"

"And the books you would practice from." Idris added.

"You are forgetting my mother is a pianist, books wouldn't be a problem." Emma said, "But while she could send us books, there's no way she can send the whole piano."

"That isn't a problem. I know where we could keep classes." Tom finally said.

"You do?"

He just nodded.

"Can I play piano there even when I'm not with you?" Emma asked.

"Why don't you send a letter to your mum asking for a music book and tonight after dinner we would go to the room with piano?" Tom asked.

Emma smiled happily and nodded.

The rest of group looked slightly confused. Non of them knew any room at Hogwarts that had a piano. Fabius was the only one who didn't care about the piano room. He was thinking about something else. This would be his chance to find the diary. He would need to consult with Emma how long it would take her to show Tom some basics and maybe play a few songs. During that time he could go over Tom's things and get the diary. This was perfect.

Later that day Fabius cornered Emma as everyone else left the Transfiguration classroom.

"Slow down princess. You said you want to find out the truth and this will be the perfect opportunity to act, since you will be going to the piano room with Tom after the dinner. I would go over his things during that time and try to find the diary. How long do you think you could keep him busy?"

"I'm still not sure this is the right thing to do," Emma said, "Diary is a private thing."

"And the only source we have for our little investigation, since you don't want to use Artemisa and Edwen as our information contents."

Sighing Emma said, "I should be able to keep him for an hour at least, that would gave you enough time to look trough his _private _things for _his _diary."

Rolling his eyes Fabius just nodded.

"Come on princess we don't want to be late for our next class."

"Stop calling me that!" Emma cried trying to hit Fabius with her book. He just laughed staying right out of her reach.

"I'll get you sooner or later."

"Or never." He added still smiling.

* * *

That evening Tom and Emma left a Slytherin table earlier to go to the piano room.

Emma was walking slightly behind Tom, who was leading the way, with a few music books in hand and her white kitten skipping next to her. Her kitten had taken upon a habit of following Emma everywhere all the time.

Tom turned slightly towards her and in a hushed voice said, "Remember where we are going, this room is special and I have a feeling you would be returning to it a lot."

Emma just nodded. She felt so excited.

The sound of their steps and even breathing was the only thing breaking trough the silence of empty hallways. Walking in that silence was comforting in some strange way. Even as they walked quietly next to each other, their shadows dancing on the wall, the feeling of having a fitting company was sparkling trough the air.

It felt weird and right at the same time.

"We are here." A silent smooth tone announced.

Two curious brown eyes met the dark-green ones, before looking at the wall in front of them. The wall that had a door appearing out of nowhere.

"This is the Room of Requirement," Tom explained, "You just have to concentrate on the certain room you need and it will appear."

He walked towards double door and opened them.

The room behind the door was too big for the lonely black concert piano which was placed on a low podium. Walls were covered in mirrors and one dark-red sofa was placed near the piano.

The room had some kind of charm to it that wasn't visible for the eyes, but you could feel it in the air.

"It's beautiful," Emma whispered as she entered the room.

Her white kitten run towards the sofa, jumped on it and lied down, watching the two of them. Emma moved towards the piano like in trance, putting the books she broth with her on the piano chair, she went with her hand over the keys once and than turned to Tom smiling.

"Should we start then?"

Fabius had left the table not long after Emma and Tom did, and was now searching trough Tom's things for the little book. So far he had no success finding it, and it had been half an hour already.

Where was it? He was sure Tom hadn't brought it with him. He hadn't saw Tom carry anything.

He had to find it! This was a perfect chance, who knows when he would have another one like this. Even if Tom really is into this all piano classes thing, it could take forever for another opportunity as good as this one was. After all, he can't just dig trough Tom's stuff all the time, Tom would certainly notice. And he can't finish his diner so early and not wait for anyone every time either. Others would get suspicious.

Come on! Where was it? It couldn't just disappear from the earth.

Actually, that might be possible, to just puf something out of existence with some kind of spell. But even Tom isn't on that level, right?

Yeah, maybe he is, maybe he is not.

Tom might be able to do the N.E.W.T.s, for all Fabius knew about his magic knowledge and skills. Now that he thought about it, Tom's magic knowledge did seem a bit advanced for their level. It wasn't much, only occasional spells and information about different subjects. But if you look at them as slips, that would mean that his knowledge is far more advanced then it should be.

Looking at the clock Fabius quickly started packing back Tom's stuff. He wasted his time staring at nothing and thinking. But his thought were on the right track. Tom's skills are too advanced for someone their age. But if he was on so much higher level than them, what is he doing at Hogwarts? Or even better questions where did he learn all the stuff and how was he so uninformed about some things like time traveling? Or some other stuff that Fabius remembered now, stuff like modern history. Or newest spells.

He would admit, many students don't know much about those when they first come to Hogwarts and in the latter few years too, but for someone on the level Tom obviously was on to not know those stuff was just, simply saying, odd.

He would need to try and get that diary another time, hopefully all the answers are in there.

As he was returning books back to their places one caught his attention. It looked to be written in Ancient runes, but Fabius never saw runes like this before and he had a library with books written in runes at home. Looking back trough books he saw a few other written in the same symbolic language. Quickly taking a piece of paper, he copied a few words from the unfamiliar language.

Emma and Tom were sitting on the sofa in the Room of Requirement going trough some theory.

"Why do I have to learn those stuff again?" Tom questioned for the millionth time that evening, "I played everything you said perfectly."

"The things you play are the easiest things you could play Tom and you played it in a slug slow fashion. You need to learn theory too. I learn all of this too. And I'm still studying a lot of it."

"I hate it." Tom announced.

"Really? Do tell? I wouldn't have noticed since you were complaining so little. Just hundred times in last fifteen minutes since we started studying it. Who do you take me for? Some idiot? I do notice things, especially so obvious ones, like you disliking theory." Emma said, rolling her eyes.

"Well we could do something else for a change."

"For example?" She questioned.

"You could play something."

"Okay. But, only if you answer me something first."

Tom nodded.

"Since I do know that both Artemisa and Edwen play something I was wondering, how is it that you don't?"

"Lets just say that I was being stubborn at that time that playing instruments is worthless and I concentrated mostly on studying languages."

"So which languages you speak?" Emma asked.

"Only French and a bit of Italian so far. But I'm really good at French so I might be starting studies of another language soon."

"I thought Edwen and Artemisa speak two languages too."

"They do. But they are not at the level I am at with French. More of my Italian level."

"So what languages do they study?"

"That'a way more than one question and you owe me a song." Tom said laughing.

"Right. Any special wishes?"

"Not really, since I don't know many songs to begin with."

"How about... Ballade pour Adeline then? It's one of my favorites." Emma said while moving to the piano.

Tom just nodded. He thought he heard of that one before.

A beautiful melody soon filed the room and Tom watched closely as her fingers moved over the keys with ease. It was a wonderful scene. As the last note rung trough the room, the dark-green eyes met the brown ones. The silence fell over them. But it didn't feel awkward, but pleasurable and enjoyable. The smile appeared on Emma's face as she looked back at the keys. Her cheeks bright red.

"We should probably go back." Tom said slowly in a hushed tone. He was looking at the floor now, suddenly insecure, something he never before was. This new feeling or state of mind, or whatever it was caught him unready. He started to feel slightly unsettled by the whole thing.

"Yeah, we should go back." She agreed just as quietly.

Emma took her sleeping kitten in her hands, while Tom picked up all the books.

The silence that surrounded them on their way back was surprisingly pleasant again, it didn't have a tinge of the awkwardness they both expected.

They entered a Slytherin common room and went to their dormitory wishing each other a silent good night.

* * *

Next morning Fabius found Emma in the library, looking trough some books.

"I couldn't find it." He announced grimly.

"Good morning to you too, Fabius," Emma said smiling, "And I really think we shouldn't pry into his business."

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever. I should have guessed Tom would charm you completely and then you would change your mind, again. I have something to tell you, lets go sit."

"Listening." Emma said putting her books down on the nearest table.

"Do you agree with me when I say that Tom's knowledge and skills are far advanced for someone of our level?" Fabius questioned.

"Yes." Emma answered easily, "But I don't see what that has to do with anything, many students are on the higher level than the level of the classes they are taking. Am I not right?"

"How advanced do you think Tom is?"

"A lot, I guess."

"If he is on the high level you think he is, isn't it a bit _odd_ that he doesn't know nearly as much about modern history or spells?"

Emma looked confused.

"I think you will agree with me when I say that Tom is interested in everything, from simple Charms to Dark magic, from Magic history to Herbology, so how is it that he doesn't know anything about the modern era?" Fabius continued.

"Well... he probably... I don't know. I wish i could say that he wasn't interested in modern stuff, but as you already put out, Tom is interested in everything! Guh... now I wish we have his diary. I really want to read it. I just can't even imagine the way his mind works! Do you have any idea why is it he has so, for Tom, little knowledge about those stuff?"

"Not a logical one." Fabius said.

"Lets here the illogical one then. There isn't anything logical about Tom anyway. My theory is he was kidnapped by aliens." Emma said.

Fabius actually laughed, "A possibility."

Sighing Fabius got serious and said, "We should probably pay close attention to Tom from now on. Lets try to get his diary when he is not paying attention, but has the diary with himself. As well as look out for any other odd behavior."

"I'm not sure how the diary looks like." Emma informed Fabius.

"Just look for a little sober green book."

She nodded.

"Now something else," Fabius said taking a piece of paper out of his pocket.

"Look at this." He said giving Emma the paper.

"It looks like some kind of symbols. Some runes..." She said thoughtfully.

"I thought they were Ancient runes. I have some books at home that are written in runes. But I never saw any symbols like that." Fabius said.

"We'll have to go trough the library then and try to find some books that could tell us what those mean."

"Do you think we could find such book here?" Fabius questioned.

"If those are runes like you think, then yes. Or we could ask the librarian what they mean, piece by piece so she wouldn't know what this sentence means. But if we can't find them, or anything similar like them in the library..."

"So you are considering not being able to find anything like those symbols here?" Fabius asked.

"Yeah." Emma sighed, "Truth to be told I was going trough some books of runes trying to figure out if I want to take that subject next year or not. But like you said, while similar on the first glance, I can't say that those really are runes we study at Hogwarts. Not that I know much about the runes to begin with."

They both looked at the paper again, thoughtful expressions on their faces. Everything surrounding their friend seemed to be a riddle of some kind. Tom was taking the word mysterious on a whole another level.

* * *

Two weeks had passed and they had found out nothing.

There wasn't a book in library with symbols that matched the ones Fabius copied from Tom's books. They even asked the librarian. But he never saw such symbols either and was sure Emma and Fabius made them up.

To make bad things worse, neither Fabius nor Emma saw the diary. Not even a glint of it. The little book that Tom always had with him was now nowhere to be seen. It was like it disappeared for the face of the earth.

Fabius was waiting for Emma in the library looking at the piece of paper like symbols are going to translate themselves if he looked long enough.

"Sorry I'm late." He heard her say, breathing heavily, "I was in the piano room and I completely lost the track of time."

"Hm." Was the only answer from Fabius.

"Have you seen the diary for the past few days? I haven't. Not even something similar to it." Emma said.

"Tell me about it." Fabius commented. He was obviously in bad mood.

"Are you sure we should be looking for a little sober green book with leather covers?"

"Positive." Fabius answered tiredly.

Emma rub her eyes. "Well that's just great then. We can't find any translation for those symbols, we haven't seen the diary for two weeks... we are stuck."

"Hm."

"Dark green, dark green. Dark green and little. That book couldn't just disappear like that! Or... what if he has a new diary now? What if he left the one we need at home during the break?"

Fabius looked up at Emma. What if... Than they wasted their time searching for something they couldn't find. He placed his head in his hands. What if that really was the case? How are they going to find out anything. He was sure Emma was still against using Artemisa and Edwen as their information sources.

"Have I overheard wrong or are the two of you looking for Tom's little notebook, that he caries with him all the time?" A familiar voice asked from somewhere behind Emma.

Both Fabius and Emma looked in it's direction. There Laurentia was leaning against a book shelf looking at them.

Since neither of them answered she continued, "I saw it."

Both Emma and Fabius set straight in their chairs, curiosity evident on their faces.

Laurentia came and set in the nearest chair. "I'll tell you where if you tell me why you are looking for it."

"And how do we know you aren't lying?" Fabius questioned.

"Not all Slytherins are as mendacious as you are Fabius." She answered coldly.

Emma, who lost all the hope of finding everything by just the two of them, said, "We found out a few interesting things that we are going to tell you, after you tell us where you saw the diary... And if you are completely certain that you want to know something that you would be probably better not knowing."

Laurentia raised an perfect brow questioningly before saying, "I saw that Gryffindor girl, Artemisa, reading it maybe two day ago, give or take a day."

"Artemisa?" Fabius questioned.

"Yes. Devlin and I were trying to find her for Tom after one of the pranks Gryffindor puled on us that made us lose some points and got three Slytherins on detention."

"When is Tom planing on putting in motion the last sabotage plan?" Emma questioned.

"I think he is waiting for a good moment to make all three houses lose points. Even though, I don't see any point in yellow sweethearts losing points, they are already last. Actually they could use some charity points. making smart-heads lose some points, however, is a good idea, or they would be taking the lead with Gryffindor and Slytherin losing points all the time. But anyway, we are going to need a few older Slytherins to help us with that plan, not that it would be hard to find them since they all seem to like Tom." Laurentia said.

"True." Fabius said, "They seem to like him more with every passing day."

"Like that's surprising considering the fact how charming he could be when he wants to." Emma said rolling her eyes.

"True enough," Laurentia said smiling," I think I'll never forget how he got us out of trouble for having a book from restricted section just with a few smiles and well placed words. I envy him sometimes. But you promised to tell me why you were looking for Tom's diary. I'm listening."

Fabius and Emma exchanged glances.

"Well that's one interesting and complicated story." Emma said.

"I'll explain." Fabius said sighing.

After the long explanation they were sitting in silence for what seemed like forever.

"Something doesn't fit," Laurentia finally said, "I definitely know that Voldemort was the last living heir of Salazar Slytherin. And you have the information from Harry Potter himself that Voldemort's real name was Tom Marvolo Riddle, just like the full name of the Tom we know. You also found out that the younger version of Voldemort looked exactly like Tom we know from professor Rubeus. That would make Tom in direct connection to Voldemort as his grandchild. And I don't know if there are any arguments that would prove different, but I think Voldemort didn't have any children."

"What if he did?" Emma questioned.

"In case he did," Laurentia said, "can you imagine his child giving Tom the real name of his grandfather? I can't fancy Voldemort as a father figure you want to remember, let alone name your only child after."

They set in silence for another few minutes.

"What if Voldemort had a brother or sister? Is there any other way Tom could be connected to Salazars hairs?"

"No. We already looked up all the books about old pure-blood families, we could find and tracked down his hairs. Voldemort was definitely the last of his descendant." Fabius answered.

"Are we sure that Tom is actually related to Slytherin?" Laurentia asked.

"If you have better explanation for clone similarity between younger Voldemort and Tom than DNA, I'm willing to hear it." Fabius said, "Not to mention his reaction, when Emma linked the dots that connected him to Voldemort."

"Imagine his reaction when he finds out we are nosing around stuff like this." Emma said tiredly.

"We will die young." Laurentia said, only half-joking.

"Guess it's a good thing we won't find anything then." Emma commented.

"We are," Fabius said slowly, "We are getting that diary no-matter what."

Laurentia nodded then smiled lightly, "You have me now too and we are getting to the bottom of this riddle."


	30. Alea iacta est

**30. Alea iacta est**

April night was glittering above the heads of the students peacefully eating their dinner in the Great Hall.

Laurentia lightly pushed Fabius' leg under the table and pretending to pour the same thing as he did, gave him a piece of paper, then continued eating her meal and chatting with Idris that was sitting next to her.

Opposite of her Fabius carefully opened the piece of paper he was handed and read it. It said:

**_Meet me at the Clock Tower Entrance in an hour._**

_"Hmmm... This meeting was out of schedule. Maybe Laurentia has some new information, but since we had a meeting three days ago that's probably to much to ask... We were stagnating for the last two months. We couldn't get the diary, we couldn't find anything about those symbols, actually we couldn't find anything new at all. What could Laurentia have?"_

"Emma are you going to that mysterious piano room again tonight?" Fabius asked interrupting her conversation with Devlin.

"I don't know. Why?"

"Just asking. I overheard some students saying that they placed stink bombs in the Trophy room, so you would probably have to take a path next to the Clock Tower Entrance. Just thought I should inform you." Fabius said.

Emma nodded, "Thanks."

"You probably shouldn't stay longer then an hour. I heard caretaker was in a bed mood." Laurentia said.

After almost three months of undercover working together, it was easy for them to talk to each other in codes.

"You are probably right. I don't want to get detention." Emma said.

Tom was watching them with slight amusement visible in his eyes. Turning towards Daisy he whispered, "Those three are getting along quite well, don't you think?"

Daisy's eyes lighted immediately. Looking at Fabius and then Devlin who was trying to get Emma's attention again.

"I'll be leaving then," Fabius announced, "I have to go to the library for some Charm books."

"See ya. That reminds me." Laurentia said, then turning to Idris asked, "Can you go with me to the Owlery?"

"This late? Are you crazy?" Idris questioned.

"It's not that late. And I have to send important letter to dad. If you don't want to then I guess I'm going alone." She quickly got up and left the table.

"And where do you have to go?" Tom asked Emma.

"Nowhere yet. But I will be leaving you in half an hour or so to go to the piano room." She said.

"You've been spending a lot of time lately with the other two." Daisy said.

"I have?"

"Like you haven't noticed." Daisy said.

"I did." Emma answered lightly, "I just do not see why is that a problem so that you would have to bring it up."

Tom smiled. He was sure his every move so far was perfectly played. Fide, sed cui, vide! And he was taking care of that. He was checking just who he could trust and who he couldn't. Dark times were nearing his doorstep and he needed to know who he could relay on when they come.

"I'll be leaving then," Emma said, "since I'm not in the mood for Daisy's questions and I need to go get my music books anyway."

Everyone looked at Daisy.

"What?" She questioned, "Like you don't agree with me. They had been spending lot of time together lately and you all know it."

"I wonder why?" Din said.

Silence fell on them.

_"They _were_ together a lot lately. And sometimes I feel like they are hiding something," _Idris thought_. _She remembered she saw them whispering a few times, but they would stop the second she got closer to them. If she hurries, she might be able to follow Emma. But what if she can't find her... they mentioned Clock Tower Entrance and Trophy room, she could check those room out, just to make sure they hadn't spoken in some codes.

"I'll be leaving too then." Idris announced.

"Yeah, me too." Devlin said. He had been wondering about the trio for sometime now. Actually, he had been watching Fabius and Emma closely since they returned from the winter break. Laurentia had joined in few weeks later. He had tried to find what they are doing for at least a month, but wasn't overly successful. This, however, seemed to be the chance he was waiting for.

"Clock will be ringing soon." Tom said as they were leaving.

Din stood up too.

"I'm leaving too."

Daisy looked at him questionably.

"I have some... things to take care off." He answered.

She nodded absently getting up herself.

When they all left Tom turned towards Ravnclaw and then Gryffindor table. Edwen and Artemisa were sitting there chatting whit their friends.

_"Tomorrow night. Tomorrow night I'll have all the pieces placed together and it will be time for a new game to start."_

Getting up, he hurried to the Clock Tower. Let the finishing act begin.

.

Emma and Fabius had already arrived when Laurentia got to their meeting place.

Fabius, who was leaning against the wall with his arms crossed, noticed her first.

"So?" He questioned.

"I'll show you why we needed to meet in a moment. We just need to go somewhere else."

"Top of the Clock Tower." Emma suggested.

"It'll do." Laurentia agreed.

They quickly started climbing the stairs, non of them noticing the shadow that was silently following them.

Idris was hurrying towards the Clock Tower when she saw a figure just few steps in front of her moving in the same direction. She held her breath. The figure moved pass the window and moon's rays lighted a familiar blond head.

"Devlin." She whispered quietly to herself.

Speeding her steps, she got closer to him. Should she continue following him, or make her presence known?

"Devlin." She quietly called out.

The figure turned quickly, obviously unsettled.

"It's me, Idris." She said quietly trough the shadows.

"What are you doing here?" He whispered back.

"Same thing as you." Idris answered quietly, "Do you think they are at the Clock Tower?"

"I'm sure of it. But we need to hurry."

With that Devlin's figure turned and continued it's way to the tower. Idris followed him silently.

"No-one's here." Devlin said disappointed once they reached the entrance of the tower.

Idris pulled him slightly and showed in the direction of the stairs. There, three figures were climbing up, silver rays lighting them now and then.

"Lets go."

* * *

"So? What do you have to show us?" Emma asked Laurentia.

"Look at this." Laurentia said taking a book from her backpack. "Looks familiar?"

It was familiar. It was the little sober green book with leather covers, Tom's diary.

"You got it! How?" Fabius asked in disbelief.

"I asked him to help me with some homework and noticed this," she said waving with diary, "in his backpack when he was taking some book from it. Than he want to search trough the library for some other books and I took his diary from his backpack while he wasn't looking. That's why I needed to meet you as soon as possible. I have to return the diary tomorrow or he would noticed it's gone. And I'm sure we don't want that."

Emma and Fabius nodded.

Around the corner two figures arrived and peeped.

"What's that." Idris whispered.

"What?"

"That book Laurentia is holding."

"I can't tell from here." Devlin said, "But it does look familiar."

_"Hm... So we are missing only Daisy and Din. And I have a feeling they wan't show up." _Tom thought from his place in shadows.

"We need better light." Emma said.

"Lumos." Faius said, the top of his wand lighted.

"Cool," Laurentia commented, "I thought we are learning that spell next month."

Fabius just took the diary from her hands and started browsing trough the pages.

"Do we know what we are looking for?" Emma asked watching the passing pages.

"Look at those dates." Laurentia said, "They are all... old, like a whole century ago."

"Those are," Fabis said, "but look at those." He flipped trough the last written pages and then started searching for something again.

"So... we have a little book holding dates from 1900 and something to this year... Interesting."

"This isn't funny Laurentia." Emma said.

"Am I laughing?"

"Your voice is."

"Will you stop it." Fabius said asked, or more likely ordered. "Look at this. This page is written in 1942. and the next one is in 2027."

"Lets read the one written in 1942. first." Laurentia said.

"Are we sure we want to do this, this our last chance to back out." Emma said.

"Yes, we are reading it."

"We are gonna regret this, I can feel it."

"You don't have to read if you don't want to."

"I do want to. I just think we are gonna regret it later on."

Laurentia rolled her eyes. "Fabius, read it."

"Right,

******_December, 5th 1941._**

**I finally finished it!**

**After months of trouble and hard work, I finally succeeded. ****I completed the spell and now I can leave this time forever. ****I did something no-one had ever done before.**

**In a few days, in the time of full moon I will enter this diary and live in it till the time comes for me to exit it. All of the writing will be sealed in together with me and only be visible when I exit the diary.**

**I am special, I always knew I was, and this just proves it. I'm finally getting away from it all. I'll have a chance to live again.**

**...**"

Silence fell on them after Fabius finished reading.

"Am I the only one who didn't understand much of it?" Laurentia asked after few long moments.

"No, not really. I haven't understood anything either." Emma admitted.

In his place in shadows Tom wanted to slap his head. Taking the wand out of his pocket he cast a spell.

_"Circumlaqueo."_

A light wind picked up and leafed trough the pages of the diary.

Fabius was just about to reaturn to the previous page when Emma stopped him. "Read that one."

He just nodded and start reading.

"_**March, 19th 1940.**_

**England lost on some south battlefield to Germany, I don't even know why I'm writing about Muggle war but I still do. I hope England wins the next ****battle**.

**I have an amazing idea, idea that will allow me to live in another time, another era.**

**The idea came to me while I was doing a research for my Transfiguration homework. I connected some of the things I read with the last homework from Ancient Runes. It's a weird and not very likely connection, which is probably why no-one ever tried what I'm about to do.**

**It's going to be complicated to actually create a spell and even then there would still be a problem of me just disappearing from the world. I can't do it. Especially with Dumbledore watching my every move. I will need to leave some kind of clone behind, a fake me that wouldn't raise any suspicions.**

**I'll have to think about it a little bit more.**"

When Fabius finished reading the wind picked again and turned the pages of the diary once more. This time Laurentia read the page.

"_**November, 25th 1941.**_

**The damn spell is giving me problems, but the rest of the plan had gone smoothly so far. ****I can just hope it will continue to. ****The spell is giving me a headache though.**

**Just a little longer. Just a bit more and it will be finished.**

**I'm not going to give up no matter what. I have to get away from all this disaster.**

Can somebody tell me what this is, because the way I understand it is... not possible."

"Turn to the first page written in 2027." Emma said.

"Just a second..." Laurentia said flipping trough the pages, "Here it is...

**December, 21st 2027.**

**Finally, I'm free from the prison I put myself in.**

**Things didn't go as planned. For some reason I'm looking like a five, maybe six-years old instead of being fifteen. Therefor, I'll be living with Edwen ans Artemisa from now on.**

**I'll be living in a family.**

**This is new. I wonder how it would be like...**

Ah..."

The diary shut itself and Laurentia dropped it on the floor.

"What?"

"Why did you stop reading?"

"The diary just closed on it's own." Laurentia said holding her hand.

Idris and Devlin run from their hiding place to the trio.

"Are you hurt?" Idris asked worried.

"I'm fine." Laurentia answered.

"What are you doing here?" Fabius questioned picking the diary.

"Finding out you were hiding something important from us." Devlin said coldly.

"I'm sorry." Emma said, "We just thought it would be better if no-one new."

"Well how about filling us in now?" Idris asked.

"Not like we have choice." Fabius said trying to open the diary again.

Emma told them everything they knew or suspected in a few minutes.

"It's not opening." Fabius complained.

"What do you mean it's not opening?" Devlin asked finally paying some attention to his old friend.

"The damn diary! It's not opening!"

Everyone turned towards Fabius now.

In shadows, Tom was torn between enjoying their struggle to open the diary again and casting another spell to send them a message. After a minute or so more he became bored and cast a spell.

_"Adaperire. Skripsi! Think carefully about what you know, then, if you think you could accept it, come to the Moaning Myrtle's bathroom tomorrow at eleven o'clock pm. I have something to show you. Oh, and don't forget to return me my diary."_

The diary on the floor suddenly opened and turned to one of the lighted blank pages. The ink started to appear on the page. It said:

**_Think carefully about what you know, then, if you think you could accept it, come to the Moaning Myrtle's bathroom tomorrow at eleven o'clock pm. I have something to show you._**

**_Oh, and don't forget to return me my diary._**

Then the diary closed again and all the hall fell in complete darkness.

"Fabius, turn on the light." Laurentia said in high voice.

Tom laughed silently. That was a bit show of him, but he knew at least one of them would panic and he couldn't resist. Quietly he left the hallway. He won't be returning to the dormitory tonight. He had some things to take care off.

* * *

Entering the Room of Requirement Tom stood in front of a big mirror and concentrating hard spoke the spell.

"Esoptron epideiknumi, sullale Stefan Greengrass II."

Instead of his reflection the mirror showed a dark empty room with a lonely figure sitting on the floor reading a book.

"Stefan." Tom said and the figure on the floor looked up.

"You are late. I have been waiting half an hour for you to call." The teenager said.

"Yeah, I know. I had somethings to take care off."

"I think we won't be finding the library anytime soon Tom. I've already searched ten of fifteen fortresses and one main castle. I can't enter Court." Stefan said.

"Wait listen. I have been thinking. If there are five elements, four nature ones: fire, air, earth and water, and one additional, lighting, could we count Dark magic as the sixth element?

I mean think about it. Fire is opposite of water, air is opposite of earth. Lighting should have something opposite too. Dark magic. That would create a total of six elements and one controlling all six would be able to connect them in a new way as seventh element. Seven is the most powerful magical number." Tom said.

"There is some logic to that theory." Stefan admitted, "But it still doesn't tell us where the library with Dark magic is."

"It does actually." Tom said, "Some dark, unused place. Probably done like a maze of some sort, place used only in dark times as a last resort. Do you know any place like that on the island?"

"I actually do." Stefan said.

"You do!" Tom said happily, "Where?"

"Think about it Tom. The place you just described. Think about all the connections Dark magic has with other elements... Maze, secrets, forbidden, probably has all of the four nature elements darkest spells..." Stefan said.

Tom thought about it for a moment. He really couldn't remember any place at the island that was like that. All the castles were already belonging to one element. Court was controlling all the elements but it wasn't dark... Then he remembered his firs night at Court. The night he was lead trough all the dark hallways. Hallways that at that time he thought belong to Court. But those hallways were obviously the hallways that go around the island connecting all the fortresses like a spider web.

"Underground hallways." Tom whispered.

"That's what I was thinking too." Stefan said nodding, "They fit perfectly. A whole underground level with rooms and passageways. Never used, never even peeped in. And it most certainly is built like a maze, dark one. It's like a whole underground fortress."

"That means we would have to search trough those hallways." Tom said thoughtfully.

"But we don't even know how to enter them." Stefan put out.

"I know how to enter them." Tom said, "But the way I know is trough the Court passageway. You can't sneak in Court. I'll try to think of something. I'll contact you again in a week."

"Same time?" Stefan questioned.

"Yes. And Stefan... never mind."

On the other side of the mirror Stefan gave him a confused look before exiting the room.

Tom watched the now empty room for another few minutes. He remembered what Alkaios said about the teenager. And Tom was sure that Salazar is controlling him. After a least meeting with Salazar Tom was sure he is somewhat being controlled as well. For that reason he wished he could at least warn Stefan to watch his back, but the words didn't want to live his lips.

Tom still wasn't sure he could trust him, Tom wasn't sure who he could trust at all and if he should trust to begin with. But this new life had woke up in him some of the emotions and hopes he once thought he didn't have.

Looking once again at the room in mirror Tom said "Apolutrosis."

The spell faded away.

Maybe he should have took the risk. He took one to tell his Slytherin friends the truth about where he is from.

Taking a piece of paper Tom wrote,

_**Beware of the snake that orders you around.**_

Stefan should get the message. Rolling a paper he cast a spell.

"Metapempo Stefan Greengrass II."

The piece of paper disappeared from his hand and Tom knew that Stefan got it, he could just hope that all the gambles and risks from today would pay off in future.

* * *

**Author's note: **The name of the chapter is a famous sentence from Cezar. There is also another famous sentence when Tom is thinking about thrust.

Translations:

_Alea iacta est_ - The die is cast

_Fide, sed cui, vide!_ - Trust but see whom you are trusting.

The spells are in old Greek and I'll create tell you translations during next month on my profile page.

**Importante:**** I won't be able to update on October 21st and 28th.**

Sorry.

Till next chapter

Ciao, ciao


	31. Chamber of Secrets

**31. Chamber of Secrets**

The day was passing slowly, it felt like it was dragging on and on, like the time for meeting with Tom would never come. They hadn't talked to each other about what happened the previous night, they haven't seen Tom all day and they were avoiding siblings... and each other when possible.

Laurentia saw Daisy in library while searching for some books. She thought about informing her and Din about the meeting, but Tom never said they could come. On the other hand, he never said they couldn't either... She decided to tell them during lunch time, but neither showed up. She was trying really hard not to think about the whole meeting and stuff they found out. After all, she still wasn't sure what exactly happened. She was confused.

Unlike her friend, Idris was trying to figure out exactly what happened, how and when. If she understood correctly, Tom time-traveled somehow. She spent her morning trying to find as much about time in magic world as she could, however her attempts were either unsuccessful or unfruitful.

Emma didn't gave it much thought, for her it was just another crazy things wizards can do. Even after almost two years in magic world, there were still many things that surprised her and looked impossible, but were actually normal for talented wizards. Therefor she just thought that this was another incredible thing most powerful wizards can do.

Devlin wasn't overly bothered by the all thing. He was more curious as way Tom told them to come to girl's bathroom, especially the one with that annoying ghost. Maybe he wanted to tell or show them something...

Fabius was the only one of them who gave some serious thoughts about everything they found out. Not just time-traveling or the reason behind the meeting in the girl's bathroom. He was getting the clearer picture of how far Tom's abilities were developed. The person that had such brain and acting skills as well as magic talents was, no doubt, far more dangerous then friendly.

And if there really is connection between Tom and Voldemort, and if Tom really time-traveled somehow, that would mean that Voldemort was Tom's replacement. Tom might be dangerous, really dangerous. It might be better if Fabius just doesn't show up for the meeting. Or that might be a stupid thing to do... Everything was just so complicated now. The boy that he knew, or thought he knew, might not exist at all. He might end up dead if he goes to the meeting... then again he would be dead if he doesn't. This was all, in Fanius' opinion, completely messed up.

At eleven o'clock when Artemisa and Edwen entered Moaning Myrtle's bathroom, they were surprised to see Tom's Slytherin friends already there, all standing separate and avoiding each others gaze. They seemed just as surprised to see the siblings there.

"This is gonna be a show." Edwen commented.

"Myrtle isn't here?" Artemisa asked.

"Now that you mention her, I haven't seen her since I got here either." Idris said.

"Nah, I took care of her." Devlin said easily.

"How?

"Just said a few things that _might_ have hurt her feelings a bit."

"Devlin that's terrible!" Emma said.

"If you want her to be back..."

"No! I mean... you could have probably asked her nicely to leave."

Devlin just rolled his eyes. How Emma got in Slytherin was beyond him, but he was still glad she did.

"Do you thing we should have told Daisy and Din about this?" Laurentia asked after a long silence.

"We all know Daisy can't keep a secret and Din has other things in his mind, trust me." Fabius said.

"You should gave Daisy more credit, she might be a gossip girl, but she knows when to stop." Idris defended their absent friend.

"Tom apparently doesn't think so." Fabius stated.

Edwen looked around the bathroom. All the persons in it were strong willed and intelligent. Each of them was special in some way.

Emma was probably the most loyal and trustworthy person. Fabius was the tricky one. Idris was a walking encyclopedia by her own rights. Devlin had all the connections possible. Laurentia was charming and persuasive. Tom is most definitely up to something. The question was, what?

"So what other things does Din have on his mind?" Devlin asked curiously.

"He is training for the Quidditch team, he wants to be in it next year." Fabius said.

"Really?" Devlin asked.

"How's that more important than everything we found out?" Idris asked.

"So you all showed up." A familiar smooth voice broke their discussion.

"I have some questions for you." Fabius said.

"And I'll answer them, but first I have something to show you." Tom walked closer to them and then smiled brightly. "I think you are going to like this."

"Like what?" Idris asked.

"You don't know where we are going?" Artemisa asked confusedly.

"They don't," Tom answered, "I wanted to keep them guessing. Oh, and my diary pleas." He added standing in front of Laurentia with a waiting hand.

As soon as she handed him the diary he stood in front of the sink and started to hiss. Everyone was watching him with disbelief, then their attention turned towards the slowly deforming sink, curiosity obvious in their eyes. The secret tunnel that was now gaping at them looked scary and the darkness was promising to swallow them.

"Come on." Tom said jumping inside.

"Is he crazy? I'm not going in there!" Laurentia cried out.

"I can't believe you are even asking. I think his craziness should be obvious by now." Artemisa said laughing, before she jumped in, following Tom.

"Come on scary cats." Edwen said also jumping in.

"Ladies first?" Devlin said.

"Blond boys first?" Idris smiled at him.

"I'm going."

Fabius jumped in.

"Send us a letter!" Devlin called after him.

"This is ridiculous. I'm going to." Emma said, following Fabius action.

"I'm going to kill Tom! We are gonna die young because of him." Devlin complained following her.

"I guess that leaves just the two of us." Idirs said watching the dark hole uncertainly.

"I think I'm gonna stay here." Laurentia whispered.

"Come on." Idris said taking Laurentia's hand in hers, "Together on three. One... Two... Three... Jump!"

They heard the passage close behind them as they slipped down.

"Took you long enough." Tom said holding his lighted wand up.

Everyone else also took their wands out and were lighting them.

"Listen, concentrate on the top of your wand as hard as you can and imagine a little moon shining on top of it then try to send your energy and magic in it and say _Lumos_."

The girls nodded and did as they were directed. The tops of their wands easily lighted up.

"Why are we doing this spell next month is it's so easy?" Laurentia mumbled.

"It's easy one to learn if you know exactly what to do." Tom said lightly, "Now follow me."

"Will you tell us where we are going?"

"You'll see."

They walked trough the dark hallway for a long time following Tom's every step, move, breath.

"It's scary down here."

"It looks like a dead end." Devlin said trying to see trough the dark.

"It's not. The door there might gave you the idea of where we are going." Tom said.

As they came in front the door, Tom lighted it with his wand.

"Take a close look."

"Snakes." Laurentia whispered.

"You hissed something while we were up there, in the bathroom. That was parseltongue wasn't it?" Idris said.

"The secret entrance, snakes, parseltongue... the Chamber of Secrets is real... And it lies on the other side of this door." Fabius said.

"Correct." Tom said smiling and than hissed to the door.

Seven pairs of eyes were watching with amazement as the two snakes separated to let them trough. On the other side the enormous chamber was silently calling them to enter, to try and figure all the secrets it was keeping. The chamber was decorated with huge statues of snakes that seemed to be watching them and at the other side was the statue of Salazar Slytherin.

Tom walked trough the chamber smile playing at the corner of his lips. The sound of his steps was ringing trough the spacious room, hitting the wall and returning, making echo. He loved this room. It was mysterious, huge and full of power that could be felt in the air. The atmosphere of it fitted him perfectly.

After a few long minutes he could hear slow uncertain steps following him, finally having the courage to enter the Chamber of Secrets, chamber that they heard so much about. Amazed breaths and quiet mumbling filled the room together with slow dragging steps. Tom turned around to watch his friends walking thought the legacy of his ancestor. They were all walking freely by now, enchanted by the looks of the Chamber. All but one.

The familiar curly haired figure was still standing next to the door, looking insecure. She looked like she couldn't decide if she should enter the Chamber like the rest or try to get away and find the way back to the upper part of Hogwarts.

Tom's eyes narrowed. Of all the people in the Chamber he expected siblings and Emma to trust him the most, therefor her standing like that, like something is going to jump on her and kill her was outrageous and insulting.

Taking a deep breath he walked past all of his other friends and stood in front of Emma. Her eyes quickly caught his every move but she didn't move. Though, her eyes seemed even more on guard and her posture tense.

"Are you gonna enter or are you planing to stay there forever? You don't need to hold the door you know. I can open it from this side too." Tom said looking her in the eyes.

He saw panic in her eyes before she looked at the floor.

She is scared now? What had he said wrong?

...

Putting out that _he can_ open the door was probably it, since she was smart enough to know that that meant no-one else can.

_"Lets try this again. Think before you say something stupid."_

Looking at the girl in front of him Tom thought a bit about her personality and what could possibly make her feel scared. Hell, it's not like he was going to kill her or something. He needed her, just like he needed everyone else in the room. Well maybe _need_ wasn't exactly the right word to use, since he could replace her and everyone else. But over the past years he built some kind of connection with people in the room and he wanted to use that connection as a better start for his plans and as a secure base on which he was going to build them.

"Come on." He said softly offering his hand to Emma.

It was obvious she was hesitating to take it.

Putting his hand back down he looked closely at her trying to catch her eyes, but she was stubbornly avoiding his gaze.

"Emma, you can trust me."

Her eyes quickly sized up his face before returning to the floor. But that single moment was enough for Tom to caught something in her eyes, something that escaped him before.

"Is something wrong?"

She quickly shook her head, too quickly.

"You are lying." Tom stated.

She glanced at him one more time before saying in a silent voice, "I don't belong here."

"Wha-... belong here? Why wouldn't you belong here?"

"That question coming from heir of Salazar Slytherin and someone who created Voldemort, the biggest Muggle hater ever, isn't overly convincing." Emma said slowly, sadly.

_"Ouch, that hurts."_ Tom thought. Emma feeling this way wasn't even near any of his planes, or predictions. _"Just calm down, stay cool."_

Looking at the far end of the Chamber Tom said in a silent voice, "I never intended for that to happen. I never though that that thing meant to be my replacement would do such things... How do you think I feel about it?"

From the corner of his eyes he saw Emma looking guilty at him.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to...I just... I'm the only Muggle born here. It's awkward to stand in the Chamber meant to be used with it's monster to destroy the ones like me surrounded by bunch of pure-bloods." She smiled sadly.

Tom looked up at her and smiling slightly offered her his hand again.

"You don't have to be sorry, it was my mistake. So how about I gave you a tour around this place?"

Taking his hand Emma smiled slightly herself, "Sure."

Artemisa seeing Emma and Tom walk hand in hand raised a questioning brow. She knew Emma was giving Tom piano lessons, but they never looked overly close. Emma was kind to everybody and helped everyone who asked if she had time, totally untypical for a Slytherin. Artemisa sometimes wondered if sorting hat can make mistakes; Putting Emma in Slytherin and her being put in Gryffindor didn't look like right decisions.

"Ed?" Artemisa called.

"Yeah?"

"Maybe you are better informed then me... Does Tom _like_ Emma?"

"What are you talking about Misa?" Edwen questioned.

"Look over there," she answered pointing in Tom's direction, "that girl looks like Emma to me, and that boy next to her is certainly Tom, and I'm pretty sure that they are holding hands."

Edwen's eyes narrowed.

He might be naive and not as good as his little sister was at reading people, but that was because he had his head stuck in books all the time. However while his sister did forgive and forget everything about Tom's past, Edwen still had most, if not all, of it in his mind. He was sure that Tom was planing something, the problem was figuring out what. He couldn't think of a single reason that could explain why Tom showed this to his Slytherin friends.

"Misa, why do you think Tom brought Slytherins here?"

"Hm...?" Artemisa was still watching the hands to pay much attention to anything, "I don't know... maybe he considers them friends and he learned his lesson and decided not to lie to them as he did to us?"

_"What a likely story. As if Tom would ever care about honesty. We knew him for how long and he didn't tell us anything until he was forced to. He might have told us everything about past that we wanted to know but I highly doubt he will keep that honesty up."_ Edwen thought bitterly.

"I have questions Tom, and I'm sure others do too." Fabius voice broke trough the air.

Tom turned towards him and nodded. "I'm listening."

"How about you explain everything instead." Idris said.

Tom's eyes got darker for a second before he looked all of his friends and started talking. Him telling the story without their interruption only made things easier, this way he wouldn't have to manipulate his way out of delicate issues, he would just skip them. Tom was talking in a way that gave the group the impression that he told them everything there is to know, only Artemisa and Edwen knew how much more there was to the whole story.

They talked among each other for some time after Tom finished his story then set in silence in their own thoughts. They were all torn between being impressed by his magic talents, scared by his actions, sympathetic for the pain he must have felt, but most of all they were glad he told them everything.

Trusting wasn't a common thing among Slytherins, and they all knew it. The sticking together Slytherins are known for was based on lies and interests, not loyalty and friendship like in other houses. But from the looks of it, there really was something more between all of them, something deeper, more pure and special then most friendships between Slytherins ever had. There was a real connection between them and they all hoped it was going to stay that way on the long ride of life.

"It's getting late." Fabius said.

Laurentia trow a fast glance at her wristwatch, "You are right, we should get going."

"You go, I'll stay a bit more." Tom said.

"How are we going to get out?" Idris questioned.

"Edwen and Artemisa should be able to help you." Tom said easily.

"Sure." Artemisa said smiling, "Let's go everyone... Edwen hurry up."

"I just need to ask Tom something. You go, I'll catch up."

Artemisa nodded uncertainly, looking at the two boys staying behind, then she exited the Chamber with everyone else.

"I thought you'll stay behind." Tom said, his back turned towards Edwen as he was watching the sculpture of Salazar.

"Why did you tell them everything?" Edwen asked.

"They are my friends Edwen." Tom said in the same voice people use when explaining something to a stupid child, "I didn't want to lie anymore to them. I learned my lesson with you and Misa. I don't want to repeat my mistakes. Besides, I hardly told them half of it."

"I don't believe that. You must be up to something." Edwen told him coldly.

Tom took a deep breath.

"Is it so hard to believe I've changed?"

"A bit, no. But so much that you tell your Slytherin _friends _all that stuff? Yeah, that is definitely hard to believe."

Tom turned his head slightly so that he could see Edwen from the corner of his eyes.

"You are not giving me enough credit." He said obviously faking the sad voice, smiling as he turned his head back.

"Do you even care about them one bit?"

"Maybe... maybe not... but that's for me to know and for you to keep guessing."

"I can't believe we are going to have the same discussion allover again."

"We don't have to," Tom said easily, "I heard that same friendship story to many times."

"Well than take it to your heart already!"

"How do you know I didn't?" Tom asked.

"You certainly don't act that way." Edwen answered.

"Lets just say I'm not overly touchy type."

Edwen had to roll his eyes on that one.

"Look Edwen, I know what I'm doing and I know why I'm doing it and when the time is right you'll know too, but... can you just leave it at that for now?"

"It's not like I have any choice."

"True."

Silence dragged between them for a while before Tom spoke up again.

"I really do want to have friends Edwen, but if you expect me to just became a kind and generous person over night, than you are asking for impossible. I don't think I'll ever be that person, but I will try to be a... nicer one than the one I am now. I thought friends take you for who you are."

"If you aren't just using them."

"I'm not."

"Then I'm there for you, not as a friend but as a brother."

Tom smiled a real smile from his heart and it was a first one in a while. "Thanks... we should probably head back, Misa is probably worried."

"Just one more question, I noticed Din and Daisy aren't here. Why?"

"Lets just say that there had been something off about Din lately and I can't call just Daisy here, they are best friends, she would have told him everything sooner or later. I'm going to keep both of them in the dark for now."

Edwen just nodded silently and headed for the exit.

Tom was almost at the exit himself when something caught his eye.

"Are you coming?"

"Just..." Tom looked back to the place he thought he saw a shadow move, but that was impossible, no-one could enter the Chamber.

"Is everything alright?"

_"I've been losing a lot of sleep lately, I must have imagined it. There's no way anybody could enter the Chamber, let alone without me knowing about it."_

"Yeah. Everything is fine."

The door closed behind Tom leaving the Chamber in the complete silence. There, between two snake sculptures one cloaked figure was fuming at the disrespect the green-eyed boy showed bringing the mud-blood in the Chamber of Secrets; Chamber were the monster once lived, monster meant to get rid of such dirt until only pure ones are left. Tom would need to learn to show respect towards the ones far grater then he is. The boy still doesn't know his place, but he will learn the hard way.

* * *

"The second year is nearing the end and there still wasn't a single incident. Are we sure he is the Dark lord?" One of the portraits in the headmasters office asked.

"Do you have any other explanation for the completely same looks?" Another questioned.

Minerva McGonagall sighed. She had thought about it since the day the boy put his foot in the castle. She informed all the previous heads of Hogwarts about him and they couldn't think about the single reasonable explanation for identical looks, same house, even same names and month and day of birth. Not even Dumbledore could think of anything.

It was just impossible no matter how you look at it.

The boy wasn't the horcrux. He was to young to be one and all horcrux were destroyed. Harry took care of it. Voldemort should be dead, but how is it then that the same looking boy exists? Could he be the grandson of the powerful Dark wizard?

Not likely.

Then how?

"Maybe we should drop the whole thing," one of the portraits suggested, "Since we won't find anything we might as well stop wasting our time."

"We can't do that.," Another portrait protested, "We can't allow the same thing to happen ever again. Wizard world won't survive another war like the last one. We can't allow that!"

"There's nothing else we could do. We can't prove that there is any kind of connection between the boy and Voldemort."

"I think looks, house and name should be enough."

Portraits begin to argue around themselves again. They had been doing that a lot lately. Since the time Tom M. Riddle entered the castle again to be more specific. The quiet, mysterious and handsome boy with dark eyes, black hair and pale skin, charming and intelligent was a Déjà vu they couldn't just let go.

"I'll be watching him from now on." Dumbledore's portrait announced.

"What good will that do?" Minerva asked.

"Of all the people that were in contact with Voldemort I had been able to read him the best. I might not be able to tell what he did now, but soon I'll have the answer."

Headmistress just nodded her head tiredly. She had been following Tom's every move for a while now. There wasn't anything out of ordinary concerning the boy. She wasn't able to watch over him 24/7, but she didn't think he could do anything big during the little time he wasn't being watched. She couldn't see how is Dumbledore going to find anything she doesn't already know, but she respected that man so she was going to let him try anyway.

The clock rung three times informing Minerva just how late it was. She should be getting some sleep, she had a lot of paper work to take care of tomorrow. Hoping that Dumbledore knew what he was doing she exited the office.

* * *

Thank you all for reading.

Thanks harrypotterlover317 for leaving a review. (yeah, chapter 29 wasn't good =P but it served it's purpose so as long as I don't lose readers because of it I'll let it be. I'm glad you liked last chapter, personally I think it was one of the best I have written so far.)

***I added the spells from my last chapter to my profile page**

I'll probably have to have a few small time skips during next few chapters, while I know how I want this story to continue I'm having a bit of trouble developing that into decent chapters and actions, therefor the story is progressing way to slow, now I practically need time skips. Anyway we'll see...

**Important:**** I'm planing to change my pen name to NovemberRiddle **(yeah, I finally thought of a pen name I actually like and won't be changing ever again ^.^) **I won't change it right away, I'll wait a few more chapters so that a late readers would see the message too.**

Anything else I have to say...

Nope.

Till next chapter

Ciao, ciao


	32. Little overlook

**32. Little overlook**

"Disgusting."

"What?"

"I said disgusting." Tom repeated.

"I heard you the first time." Artemisa informed him, "I meant what's disgusting?"

Edwen looked up from his book to see what Tom and Artemisa were talking about.

All of the exams were over and sibling were spending the last day at Hogwarts outside with Tom. All students were enjoying the beautiful day near the lake or somewhere around the castle's grounds.

"That white tomb is, that's what." Tom answered like it should have been obvious to everyone.

"Dumbledore's tomb?" Edwen said looking at it. He quickly remembered from Tom's diary that he had never been on the best terms with said wizard, his former professor.

"Do you see anyone's else?"

"You really disliked him didn't you?" Artemisa commented.

Edwen decided to change the subject since he was sure Tom would start fuming any second now.

"Tell me, what are you planing to do now that you have told your Slytherin friends about your past. It's been some time since they entered the Chamber and you still hadn't done anything."

Tom staid silent for another moment darkly watching the white tomb, most likely thinking of all the ways possible to destroy it. Then he looked at Edwen a small smile playing at the corner of his lips.

"Starting next school year I'll try to teach them how to use magic without wands."

"Are you crazy? That's forbidden! No-one can know it's possible!" Edwen yelled.

"Calm down," Tom said easily, "You are forgetting that once all wizards used magic without wands. Why do you think I chose to tell them the truth in the first place?"

"Tom you can't do it!"

"Relax Edwen, there's no way they would be able to use it anyway," Artemisa said, "It's probably to late for them to learn how to do it now, they are already used to using wands."

"Do you really believe I would be wasting my time if don't think they could do it?" Tom asked her.

"Maybe. But what are you planing to do even if they can learn, which I doubt."

"For that one, you'll need to trust me for now. I'm planing on getting some books for the two of you to study too."

Edwen and Artemisa looked at him with same calculated looks. Tom just raised a brow.

"You don't honestly thing you can make me say what I plan, do you?"

"We could always try." Artemisa smiled sweetly.

"Since you are planing to do something forbidden...you can either tell us what you plan or... elders at the island will somehow find out you are planing on teaching some no-ones how to use magic without wands." Edwen said.

"Nice try." Tom said smiling, "but I have written a book on blackmailing and... I know you don't want anything to happen to me therefor you won't tell."

Artemisa showed him her tongue.

"Really mature." Edwen commented.

"Whatever."

Tom just laughed.

"I will tell you everything, once I'm sure that my assumptions are correct."

"They always are." Edwen said.

"True, but I still want to be 100% sure. I'll be leaving then. I promised Laurentia that I will be with the rest of them for lunch. See ya latter."

"B-bye." Artemisa said making a sad face like Tom was leaving forever.

Hurrying up towards the entrance Tom almost missed the silent hissing noise coming from somewhere near the wall. Looking around he couldn't see a single snake moving trough the grass, the hissing was unclear but sounded desperate and tired. Deciding to follow the noise Tom searched trough the grass for the snake creating it. There, trapped between the wall and crumbled rooks little green-gray snake was trying to free itself.

_"Hi little one, let me help you."_

The snake looked at him and Tom freezed. Then he felt his blood boil. He knew those eyes, the color and the shape of the eyes to be more specific. Those big, rounded and sun-yellow eyes were the eyes of the snake king. Eyes of the Basilisk.

"Wha-... No way." He whispered.

Carefully removing the stones that were holding the snake he took a closer look. The skin of the snake matched too.

_"How did you get here?"_

_"I don't know. I was just wandering around at night when those rooks fell on me."_

_"Do you remember where you are from?"_

Little snake in his hand nodded.

_"The first thing I remember is a big green, dark and wet room with lot of sculptures of my kind and a big one of your kind."_

_"Chamber of Secrets... but that's not possible..."_

_"What is that Chamber?"_

_"The room you just described. It is known as Chamber of Secrets. One Basilisk already lived and died there... Do you remember any person being there."_

_"No. Not really. I remember being alone."_

_"Don't worry. I'll take care of you from now on. But we'll have to do something about those eyes of yours..."_

The little snake nodded again and entered the backpack that Tom opened for her. He wondered how he should name her. He also wondered how did the little Basilisk ended up in the Chamber. He was sure that the only Basilisk there was the one that died or was, more likely, killed. He was getting a bad feeling about the all thing.

"I wouldn't have thought it possible."

A familiar voice cut trough Tom's thoughts like a knife. It was a voice that invoked bad memories from the past.

"Dumbledore." Tom greeted the portrait icily.

"Tom." The much older version than the one from Tom's memories greeted. Those same electric-blue eyes were watching him like they were seeing right trough him. The eyes that Tom disliked so greatly. He always felt like those eyes could read his ever thought, every intention. Like they could read and understand who he was better then he himself could.

"It's been long time since we last saw each other, don't you think?"

"Unfortunately, not long enough." Tom answered.

"I see you haven't changed. Same old cold attitude still lies behind the charming face that you are selling to the Hogwarts staff."

"Actually, I think I'm younger then the last time we saw each other." Tom said smugly.

"You are full of yourself as always. I still wish for you to learn how important is to have other people you care about surrounding you. If we deny love that is given to us, if we refuse to give love because we fear pain or loss, then our lives will be empty, our loss greater."

Tom rolled his eyes.

"I think I heard more than enough of those stories from a living you, so I'll skip the classes of the portrait of a dead men."

"Tell me, how did you succeed in tricking me and living on?"

"Succeeded in tricking you and living on... does that mean you tried to kill me at some point? I'm disappointed." Tom answered smiling.

"How are you still alive?" Dumbledore's portrait repeated the question.

"Oh, that's an interesting story... you see I found the three legendary items, stone, cloak and wand. Do they sound familiar to you? I think you once tried to be in the possession of them." Tom asked.

"I know you were never in possession of those items Tom."

"Oh, do you now." Tom said, leaning against the wall, "Unluckily for you, you couldn't read me as good as you thought."

"What are you up to?"

Tom smiled a smile of a predator spotting it's prey. Tilting his head to one side he said, "You are in no position to question me anymore Dumbledore, you are long gone and I'm still alive and free to do whatever I want."

Preparing to leave Tom turned towards portrait one last time saying, "I think I wasted enough of my time talking to a harmless picture, I'll be living now since I'm sure you can't wait to spend the rest of your framed forever thinking about all the mistakes you made."

With that Tom left the hallway, all the way to the Great Hall swearing in his head. He might have acted all cool, but he would have to be more careful from now on. If he knew Dumbledore like he thought he did, that idiotic portrait was going to follow his every move from now on.

Wasn't that just marvelous? A blast from the past, Dumbledore breathing down his neck again. Uh, he'll never get rid of that man.

If Tom thought that the day couldn't get any worst, two letter that came for him during lunch proved him wrong.

The first letter was delivered by the big black owl. It was an expansive paper that Tom recognized well. Opening the letter he saw a familiar handwriting. Alkaios was informing him that he was putting an end to Tom's access to his account and giving him allowance of five galleons a month. Tom couldn't believe the words he was reading. He read the letter twice. Why was Alkaios cutting him off?

He did spent around 50 galleons two weeks ago... and another 70 three months ago... and 100 at the beginning of the school year and around 90 galleons during the year. But that wasn't much compering how full the safe was. Besides, it wasn't like he was just trowing all those galleons out of the window. He was experimenting with some potions and it wouldn't do him any good to just still stuff he needed from Hogwarts like he used to do back at his time, since there were still people who remembered Voldemort as Tom Marvolo Riddle. Not to mention that some of the ingredients were from black market and cost hell lot of money. Luckily the summer was starting soon and he wouldn't need to buy anything having all the things needed at Court or somewhere around the island, therefor he would slowly persuade Alkaios to gave his full access to his account again.

The other letter was delivered by a small and fast owl that went almost unnoticed among the other bigger and slower ones. Envelope was from heavy parchment and it contained one card written in a anfractuous but legible handwriting, that Tom didn't recognize. The message that was written however left no room for wondering who was the sender. Only one person alive besides himself could enter the Chamber of Secrets and demand a meeting there that night. Salazar Slytherin.

Tom had completely forgot about the old man when he took his friends to the Chamber. That overlook was going to cost him greatly, unless he figures how to get out of the said situation. He had already made a mistake and he mustn't make another one.

He can't call Alkaios to help him with this situation, that wouldn't be a good move for a longer ride. While it would be his best shot for getting out of this mess unscratched. However that would mean he was giving Salazar the key information about Protectors by reveling who their leader was. And there was no-one else he could turn to. Tom was sure while there were many powerful wizards at the island, non of them could stand up to Salazar. That meant he was in this alone.

He knew that, at that moment, his powers were way below what his ancestor was capable of. He could only hope that the only reason for the meeting was because he showed his friends the Chamber. With any luck Salazar didn't know that one of the people in the Chamber was a mud-blood so he wouldn't be to pissed off about it. Thought, Tom didn't hope to much for that. As his life and whatever force Majeure was watching him already proved, luck was never on his side.

"Tom is everything alright?" Idris voice cut trough his thoughts.

Looking up he saw his friends watching him with concern.

"I'm fine." He answered a small convincing smile playing on his lips. "So Lurentia you are going to Indonesia this summer?"

"Yes. My family has an..."

The group continued their previous chat with happy carefree voices. Only Fabius gave Tom one more curious glance before continuing his meal in deep thoughts.

Later that night, when all other boys fell asleep, Tom sneaked out of the dormitory and went to the Chamber.

He entered carefully, still thinking that it might have been better if he just stayed in his bed and pretended that he was so tired that he fell asleep. But that wouldn't help him at all.

At the other end of Chamber the old man was already waiting for Tom. Taking a deep calming breath Tom walked towards him. The silver eyes where watching him, anger burning in them.

"Explain yourself." The cold voice commanded.

Tom staid silent. He still didn't know how he should elucidate everything without giving away any of his plans.

The silence dragged between them. It took all of Tom's stubborn refusal crack for him not to look at the floor. Salazar was only getting angrier. It was the matter of time he explodes. The seconds were ticking off.

"How dare you bring that mud-blood here! How dare you disrespect me! You are a disgrace! Just like you're idiotic mother was! I should have killed her the second she got the idea to run away with that filthy Muggle!"

Tom lost his calm for only a second. He was shocked. That was the first time he heard someone talking about his mother or father. And it confirmed his long ago forgotten suspicions, that his father was a Muggle. Muggle... just like all that mean children back at the orphanage, and that stupid stuff working there...

Tom quickly regained his composure. This wasn't the time for him to start hating Muggles again. He had bigger problems.

Salazar was slowly calming down, which in Toms opinion was worst then his ranting and raving.

"Maybe it's time I show you what are the consequences of disrespecting me."

Tom's heart skipped a beat. There was more danger in that icily cold and calm voice than whole those angry words and stares had.

Next second he was flying across the big room hitting the far wall. He felt a pain holding him in the place with strong grip. And it was getting worst. It felt like his every cell was burning. His had wanted to explode. The all pain stopped and Tom fell on the floor breathing heavily.

He placed his cheek on the cold ground trying to get a grip on himself.

A shadow fell on him. Tom forced himself to get up on his feet not wanting to gave Salazar the satisfaction of lying under his feet. Looking him in the eyes tom answered coldly, "What I do is not any of your business."

A cold hand grabbed his throat.

"You should learn your place boy."

Tom just glared at him. He was sure Salazar wouldn't kill him, or he would be already dead.

"Consider this as a warning Tom. I'm more powerful then you are, and I can do far worst things to you then what you just experienced."

Silence was the only response.

"Who is controlling Protectors? Who is their leader Tom?" Salazar asked tightening his grep.

Tom was fighting for air now. But his mind was, luckily, working as fast as always. He saw a chance to get away from Salazar and to gave him some false but believable information.

"Does it matter. He would die in a few months anyway. I'll be a new leader." Tom sad smugly.

"You'll be a new leader. Hm, you finally did something right." Salazar said, letting go of the boy and disappearing from the Chamber.

Tom set on the floor trying to regain air. Taking one last breath he got up and exited the Chamber. He didn't need Salazar as an enemy right now. He would be more careful when dealing with old mean.

Returning to the dormitory, he set on his bed. He was thinking about everything that happened that day and finally to tired to stay awake he decided to think about it all tomorrow.

* * *

**Author's note: **Well I hope you like this chapter

Since my 18th birthday is this Sunday please leave reviews either for this chapter or any before this one.

'Till next chapter

Ciao, ciao ;)


	33. Dark magic library

**33. Dark magic library**

The station 9 and 3/4 was full with cheerful students and happy parents greeting each other. Tom was trying to find Mr. and Mrs. Gray and Alkaios. But he couldn't spot them.

"Do you see them?" Artemisa asked.

"No. Do you?"

She shook her head.

"I see them!" Edwen announced.

They dragged their luggage towards the waiting trio, that was talking to some other parents. The kids greeted them.

"There you are." Alkaios said, "Lets go Tom."

Tom looked at him confused.

"Aren't they going too?"

"I'm staying in London for two weeks." Edwen said happily, "Daniel Tomas invited me and Erica Stainwright to be here for a week at his family home."

"And I'll be at Monica Daives' family house for a month. Sorry." Artemisa apologized.

"I'll be back before you even notice I'm gone." Edwen reassured him.

"Hey." Mrs. Gray got Tom's attention hugging him lightly. "I'll take you to with me to London when I come for Edwen and we can meet with Artemisa for lunch."

Tom nodded and waving sadly, followed Alkaios.

"Cheer up Tom. You have a summer invitation too." Alkaios said.

"Really?"

"Yes. You are invited to the Whitehorn's family house for the last week of summer."

"Fabius didn't tell me that."

"He probably still doesn't know. His father invited you."

"Why?" Tom questioned.

Alkaios just smiled.

"Tell me!"

"It's not the right time for you to know. Now tell me how was your school year?"

"Huh. Good I guess."

"Not very talkative are we?"

"Hm."

Alkaios sighed.

"Tom... I'm sorry, but you are not in the same position as Artemisa or even Edwen. You'll have to learn to live with it."

Silence.

Alkaios looked at the boy walking next to him.

"I'll be supervising your education from now on."

Tom just nodded. Silence continued to drag between them until tom decided to tell Alkaios about an idea he had.

"I know that war in on our doorsteps and... I was wondering..." He trailed off. He wasn't sure how to continue, or why he even brought it up. He knew Alkaios wouldn't allow it.

"Yes?" Alkaios wanted him to continue.

"Well, it's just that... there are many talented children around the island who are capable of mastering more than one element and I thought that it might be a good idea if they all lived in Court for some time and studied there. they could be future best defence of the island."

"You already have Protectors and their children." Alkaios put out.

"But Protectors can't learn more then three elements or better to say they are prohibited from learning more. am I not right?"

"That's done for a reason Tom..."

Tom cut him. "Because the bounding spell that's keeping Protectors so _loyal _is created using all five elements. This way they can't free them selves."

Alkaios sighed heavily. "If you become the leader they respect and love they won't want to free themselves."

"That's why I think my idea would be great. The talented kids from the island, born to be Protectors or not, would be able to learn all five elements."

"And hove do you plan to control them? How would you know they won't betray you?" Alkaios questioned.

Tom looked at him. He could understand why Alkaios was afraid of betrayal, he really could. After that war on the island all those years ago it was only normal that some kind of paranoia would be left as a result of all the scars. After all, the main cause of the war was betrayal of the woman Alkaios once greatly loved.

"Well?" Alkaios questioned.

"Bonds."

"Bonds?" Alkaios repeated in disbelief.

"Yes. Bonds created by growing up together."

"Tom listen to me. I lived longer then you did and I'm not always right, but I do have more experience at being wrong. You can't relay on such bonds, they won't guarantee the loyalty you need."

"Why can't I try at least try?"

"Try is to risk failure."

"How is it that everyone is always talking about how powerful friendship and bonds are, and now that I want to use that strength it's not one to relay on?"

"You can't force people to stay in your life. Staying is a choice, so be thankful for people who choose you."

"Who said they wouldn't choose me?"

"You are being to optimistic Tom."

"I'm not optimistic, I'm confident. Difference!"

"Among as many children as there would be in Court, there would be some that would choose you. But among them there would also be many that would leave you the second something better for them showed up."

"You are only afraid that my idea wouldn't succeed because of the way your fiancé was manipulated!"

"Are you saying those kids couldn't be manipulated too?"

"No." Tom said in a cold, calm voice, "I'm saying that I wouldn't ever get attached to them as you did to Penelope. If they were to betray me... I would easily kill them."

"Then you wouldn't deserve them to be loyal to you in the first place."

"You called me optimistic earlier and I told you I'm not. Optimism means expecting the best, but confidence means knowing how to handle the worst. And someone betraying me would be the worst."

"There are to many obstacles in your idea for it to work."

"Obstacles are something you see when you take your eyes off the goal." Tom said.

"And since you, obviously, aren't taking your eyes off the goal you can't see them so you'll just trip and fall unless you listen to me."

"I know this plan will work!"

"Maybe the reason you have no doubts is because you are too positive about it."

"I'm also too stubborn to gave up and too determent to be defeated."

Alkaios sighed. There was no point in arguing with the boy about his idea. It was obvious he won't gave up.

"Or right Tom. Have it your way. But remember there is hell in hello, so be careful to who you are saying it."

Tom nodded. He was trying to learn from his past so he can built his future. And if there was one important lesson he learned, it's that somethings you just can't do alone.

* * *

After a long week Tom was finally able to get the other elders to agree with his plan, and that day 33 children would be moved to the Court, having a total of 35 kids that would live there with Tom. There were ten kids born in families of Protectors, future lords of five main castles and one random talented kid from every castle and fortress. Edwen, Artemisa and Stefan were among those 35 kids.

Tom waited for all of them to show up at the entrance hall at Court. He and Alkaios agreed that it would be best if he greeted them all. He was watching as children slowly entered. Some confused, other curious. Some scared, other proud. It was a huge mix of different personalities and attitudes, different dreams and hopes. But Tom planed to make them all work as one.

"May I have your attention!"

The noise in the hall quieted down as all eyes turned toward him.

"I know you are all wandering why you were called here. The reason is... you are being given a chance to live here, study here, train here."

Excited whispers spread around the hall.

"You are all among the best. And here you'll be given a chance to be the best. But it will require a lot of hard work from you. If you don't want this leave now."

No-one left. Tom smiled.

"Hm... no-one leaving? Are you sure you want this? There will be no turning back."

Everyone just continued looking at him.

"Well then, welcome. I hope we'll have great time together. I'll show you all your new rooms."

Latter that day while he was training with Alkaios Tom told him how everything seems to be going perfectly.

"For now." Alkaios said.

"Do you have to be so pessimistic? Or maybe you are just too old to hope for the best." Tom said irritated.

Alkaios actually laughed. "Who knows. Considering how old I am that might be true. Thought you are following me close behind. What are you 1000 years old?"

"I don't feel that old and I was born in 1926. Besides the years in diary don't count!"

"Ha ha ha, I never thought you'll be the touchy one when it comes to years."

"Yeah, well... I'm surrounded by kids all the time." Tom said defensively.

"And you are one of them. You never really had a chance for the childhood in that time so you are living one now. Or maybe were leaving would be better to say. Looks like another war will cut it short again." Alkaios finished sadly.

"At least this time I got a glance in that universe."

"I must say I'm pleasantly surprised by your fellow classmates at school."

"Hm?"

"Your Slytherin friends." Alkaios explained.

"Not you too!"

"What?" Alkaios questioned.

"I'll never understand why everyone is surprised by them! Because we didn't get a single brainless moron?"

"We both know that Salazar's house had a lot of hateful students who, weren't very bright."

"The likes of those were in Slytherin because they weren't bookworms to be in Revenklow, they weren't _brave _to be in Gryfindor and they weren't _kindhearted _to be in Hufflepuff. The only reason they were in Slytherin was their blood status!"

"But that doesn't change the fact that the stereotypical personality traits of Slytherins are cruelty, hatefulness, the ability to hold grudges."

"I guess those are the bad traits but you are forgetting the good ones like cunning, ambition, intelligence and charm."

"True. Those are the traits everyone forgets all the time. Maybe because true Slytherins are so rare..."

"It's more likely that all the big and stupid Slytherins died during the war with Voldemort so they can't outnumber true Slytherins anymore."

"We rested enough. Lats continue the training."

"Right."

Dinner time was an interesting experience. While the children had seen each other on the island before. Non of them had a real conversation with another. The first few moment were silent and awkward but when they finnaly did start talking among themselves, the noise they made didn't quiet down till it was time for them to go to their room to sleep.

The most important part was to let them know they were all equal. Therefor there was no such thing as seating order. Depending when you came you could choose any of the free places you like. The rooms were mixed up too. That way all elements were present in each hallway and children were forced to associate with each other. They'll have many of the classes together with Tom as well as many classes organized depending on their skill level and interests.

Tom tried to speak with each and everyone of them and he saw that they all appreciated the opportunity they were given. They were all eager to learn as much as they could about all five elements.

They had more free time than Tom, as he had a few extra classes organized for him. Because of that he couldn't wait for Edwen and Artemisa to join the group. He needed someone to watch the group closely until he finds another trustworthy person for the job.

That night he sneaked in Stefan's room.

"Wake up."

Stefan mumbled something in his sleep.

"Stefan, wake up."

"Hm... let me sleep."

"Come on lazy, get up now."

Stefan rubbed his eyes.

"What do you want. It's late." He complained.

"You said you want to find Dark magic library. So move."

It took him a while but he finally got Stefan out of bad.

"Will you explain to me where we are going?" Stefan whispered as they exited his room.

"Just follow me."

They sneaked around Court entering a maze of hallways laying under the castle. It was called down there. Stone walls surrounding them were like ice. There was no light either and the only source of light was a small shining ball in Tom's hand.

"Those are the hallways you mentioned." Stefan said.

"Yes. But they are like a maze. I've been searching trough them since I got here a week ago and I still haven't found anything. It's like there are just never ending hallways."

"Have you marked the passageways you've already been to?" Stefan asked.

"No. Why?"

"How do you know you haven't been wandering around the same passageways all this time?"

"I have a photographic memory." Tom answered coldly, like he always did when someone dared to doubt his abilities.

Stefan looked at the boy standing next to him. He really wandered if all the kids would be able to put up with Tom. He had a royal posture that would make others around him insecure. He had some kind of aura that had nothing to do with his powers that would make others feel small next to him. And he had the worst timing in letting those things slip to the surface removing him charming mask.

It didn't bother Stefan however. As long as he knew Tom, the boy had really proved over and over again that he was a genius on a whole another level. Just how many others would be able to put up with that without jealousy.

"Well we'll have to start marking them somehow from now on." Stefan announced, "I do have a good memory but not as good as yours. I don't want to get lost around here."

Tom just silently nodded.

They searched the underground hallway three hours that night, but couldn't find anything.

They came back next night too, and the night after that. They came down to those hallways every night, searched, wandered around, just to return to their bedrooms tired and disappointed. They had been loosing a lot of sleep too and after a week of such night excursions many started to notice how drained the two of them looked. Therefor, they were forced to stop their research for a few days to regain strength and put all the suspicion down to bed.

Edwen, who had returned from his friends house, started to see that something weird was going on. Put since he couldn't figure out what that something was, he just convinced himself that Tom would tell him everything when the time was right.

Alkaios knew exactly what was happening. But he didn't know how to stop the boy. He didn't want to use force, he wanted to stay on good terms with boy and he just hoped that Tom won't get burned, even though that might teach him a lesson.

When it comes to Tom's idea of having chosen talented children train together to be extremely powerful, the progress was obvious. All the children felt connected to each other, were helping each other and there weren't any big problems so far. Maybe the main reason for this was the way kids became isolated from the rest of the island. They studied and trained a lot, and have little time for their old friends.

At first Alkaios was afraid that that isolation was going to cause many problems. But he was wrong. The kids were enjoying the new company they had more then the old one. Maybe because they were more similar to each other than to any other children on the island. They were all bookworms with thirst for knowledge and experiments. They were spending a lot of time together creating new spells, making important potions, doing different researches and having fun most of the time.

A few elders that were supposed to be tutoring them were now more helping with some problems and explaining complicated stuff then actually holding classes. The group of the kids there didn't needed to be pushed to the library but out of it.

So after a week or two after such good team work Alkaios stopped worrying about them. His only problem now was how to keep Tom away from Dark magic. He couldn't understand why such an intelligent and powerful boy would be so obsessed with them. He had been moving the hallways and underground passage way changing them, but he knew he couldn't keep doing it for long. At one point Tom would realize that something was off and even if he couldn't figure out what, he would find a way to work around the problem. Alkaios was sure of that. The boy had amazing intuition, it hard to trick him, not impossible but still really hard.

A whole month had passed and Artemisa returned from her visiting her friend, she joined the rest of the children at Court. At first Tom thought that now that they were together siblings were going to press him for information about what he was doing when he was so tired all the time, but luckily for him Artemisa was to focused on studying and catching up to the rest the children. And Edwen spent his free time trying to help her.

That night, as many many nights before, Stefan and tom sneaked out of their rooms trying to find the library.

They had been walking for an hour when Stefan stopped.

"Stefan?" Tom questioned.

"We've already been here."

"No. I don't remember any hallway like this." Tom said.

"Look here." Stefan said lighting the wall, "It's the mark we put here so we would know trough which hallways we've already went trough."

"No way." Tom said hurrying towards Stefan, he had a perfect memory, he never forgot anything before. But right there a little brown cross was standing in the middle of the wall. It looked the same as tho ones they were leaving behind. But there was a problem with it. They only left crosses on the passages, when the hallways was bifurcate, not in the middle of the hallway that was going straight without any other passageways leading somewhere else.

He looked around himself. The darkness was surrounding their little lighted spot. Anybody could be following them for all they knew. Tom put his hand on the mark, mumbling a spell. The mark disappeared confusing Tom even more.

"What do you think." Stefan asked looking at the wall.

Tom put both of his hands on the wall and started casting more spells deep in concentration, but nothing happened. Removing his hands he looked at the wall.

"I don't know what to think." He said slowly.

"Since we entered this hallway it went only straight right?"

Tom just nodded.

"Lets crush the wall then." Stefan suggested.

"Are you crazy? The whole ceiling might crumble!"

"I don't think that would happen. But in case it does... we would just need to run in that direction (he pointed to the path they came from) as fast as we can."

"I don't think that's the best ide..."

"Do you have any other?"

"No." Tom admitted.

"Then move." Stefan said.

"How do you plan on braking trough that stone?" Tom asked.

"Quite easy actually. These walls lie underground forever, they are full of moisture or in other words water. I just need to concentrate that water on a certain stone and puss it out with high pressure."

Tom raised a brow slightly in fascination. It sounded easy, but he knew how much concentration, energy and skill it really took to do such thing. He stepped away from the wall carefully watching every Stefan move. Cracking the wall would be much easier if one of them was capable in using earth element on high level, not to mention it would have been safer too.

They were standing there in silence, Stefan concentrating on the water he could use and Tom watching him amazed. Removing his hands from the wall Stefan took a deep breath mumbling something that sounded like "This is going to be harder then I thought." before returning his hands on the wall again.

The quiet sound of the stone shattering was heard trough the hallway making an echo. The big part of wall finally broke down creating a loud noise and a dusty cloud. A few stones fell down from the ceiling but otherwise the whole stone structure seemed to be unaffected by the gaping passage they created.

They both sighed. The tension gone, they stepped in the next , their eyes met a completely different hallway from the ones they had been wandering around all month.

The torches and candles on black iron stand would light up as they walk to show them the way. The hallway were decorated with different types of weapons and shields. There were some dark pictures with silver frames and mirrors with web like ornaments.

A few big wooden doors were leading to some rooms and big hallway was bifurcating in a few more directions.

Opening one of the doors and glancing in Stefan whispered, "Someone lived here."

"They had a terrible taste." Tom commented looking at one of many pictures.

"Lets look for the library and then get out of here. This place is too creepy for my taste." Stefan said quietly, like someone could hear him talking down there.

Tom nodded absently.

They were searching trough the place opening doors leading to different rooms. The more of that place Tom saw the more questions appeared in his mind. It was late but neither of them wanted to go back to bed. They came that far, just a little longer and they would be at their destination, just a little more and they would find the library.

That little longer ended up turning in two hours of search. But those two hours payed off. As they opened the double-door of a big dusty room they stood fascinated at the doorsteps.

The room was enormous, hundreds of shelves cluttered with book were filling the room and on the ceiling there was a huge lake, the same lake that was occupy big part of Courts central garden.

"Magnificent." Tom whispered.

Stefan just nodded, his eyes big and rounded with disbelief.

Tom quickly tried to regain control over his emotions and while he put a cold mask over his face the greed was still obvious in his eyes. Stefan was, however, to occupied with the likes of the library to pay him any attention. They both went their own way trough the maze of incredibly high shelves.

Tom quickly noticed that all the books he passed by were really old and written in either (by now) familiar symbols, ancient Greek and rarely Latin. There were even some runes that looked like Egyptian hieroglyphs. They stayed in the library till the morning sunbeams braking trough the lake above of them warned them that they should return to their rooms or someone would noticed they were gone.

They run trough the hallway on their way back quickly marking the way they came from with little crosses. They are going to return to that place next night too, and the one after it, and then the next one and the next and so on.

But there was something else that worried Tom now that they had find the library. Not Alkaios, even thought the old man despised Dark magic. It was something about those rooms he and Stefan saw, he didn't know exactly what worried him about them but he had an uneasy feeling deep in his soul. His instincts were telling him to watch out, and that almost unconscious feeling he had was never proven wrong before.

* * *

**Author's note:** I don't have much to say about this chapter except I hope you like it.

However, there is something else important, **I'll be replacing my pen-name with a new one NovemberRiddle at the beginning of December.**

Also for all of you interested I put my deviantART and twitter profile link on my profile here

That's all for now

Till next chapter

ciao, ciao ;)


	34. Whitehorn family

**34. Whitehorn family**

(Somewhere in the Atlantic ocean)

"My Lord they had returned."

"Bring them in." Lazy voice said.

Two man stepped in to the big room looking slightly shaken. They both bowed to the young handsome man in his late teens sitting on the throne. The old man next to him ordered them to tell their findings. They both gave their written reports to him. Obviously afraid to speak of the unsuccessful operation the older of the two man spoke in a quiet barely perceptible voice.

"We lost three castles and one island to somebody in the last year and another five castles and two island for the past six years."

"That's impossible." The man next to the throne said, "We would have noticed such great loses over the years."

The teenager on the throne had a thoughtful expression on his face. They should have noticed such loses... unless...

Eight castles and three small islands weren't such a great loss for him and his empire. He had been aware of losing the last three castles and one islands, that was part of a secret agreement. However the other five castles and two islands that were lost over the years worried him. Even if those were weakest points of him empire it worried him that someone had successfully tricked him into believing those locations were still his.

"Pelagius," the older man standing next to the throne asked for his attention, the teenager looked at him, "I'll personally make sure that all of our territories are safe from now on. It's not worth to fight over the already lost once."

"I know." He answered tiredly.

The younger man of the two newcomers now spoke up, more freely that the first one.

"We searched all the locations given to us. And we couldn't find any prof of the one really existing. Only rumors. We are out of locations we could sniff around."

Pelagius just nodded tiredly.

"Brother," a boy around fifteen stepped out of the shadow in the corner of the room and the two newcomers only then noticed that he was in the room, "There is another location we could try to find."

His older brother gave him a look that clearly said he wasn't interested in chasing old legends. Turning towards the man standing next to his brother's throne, the younger teenager said, "Euphemios, you know I'm right."

Shaking his old head the man sadly said, "Promrtheus, you are a bright boy, but you can't prove that that island really exist."

Disappointment was obvious on the teenagers face as he looked at his brother this time.

"If we are leaving on a hidden island so can others." He said begging his older brother to understand.

Euphemios spoke up again, "It is impossible for any island to stay completely hidden from others, especially a powerful one."

"They hadn't stayed hidden!" Prometheus tried to argue now.

His brother sighed heavily.

"Listen little brother, if you are so sure that this island you are talking about really exists, I'm giving you 50 man you choose to try and find it. You have three months. You may leave in one week."

He looked at his brothers happy face that towards everyone else in the room. Old Euphemios looked like he was going to argue, but knowing him he'll wait until they were alone to show his displease.

"You may all leave now." Pelagius said coldly then added " Prometheus you stay."

As everyone left he stood up from the throne and walked to his younger brother.

"This is your chance to prove to everybody how much you worth, especially to our idiotic father. I believe in you little brother, do not disappoint me."

"I promise you Pelagius I'll make you the proudest big brother ever." The teenager said seriously.

* * *

"Tom!" Alkaios called for what seemed to be millionth time that morning. The boy had been supposed to be in the entrance hallway an hour ago. And he couldn't find him anywhere. Walking around Court, he asked every child he saw, but no-one had seen Tom all day.

Hidden in the remote part of garden hidden by bushes and trees Tom was reading a book from Dark magic library. He had a lot of trouble understanding those book. While he was studying all the old languages the books were written in. He still wasn't good enough to be able to fully understand complicated texts in those languages. Though he was getting better.

The problem was also that many books had spells, ingredients or stuff connected to other Dark magic spells and potion and were explained in other books that he hadn't read yet. Therefor he didn't know how they look like, for what they were used and other such stuff.

"Tom!" A familiar voice called him. He had just enough time to hid the book before Edwen and Artemisa stepped in the view.

"I told you he'll be here." Artemisa said proudly.

"Sirius is looking for you." Edwen informed him.

"Why?" Tom asked.

"Shouldn't you be going to that guys house. Fabius was it?"

Tom looked up at the clear blue sky. The sun was already high in the sky. Fully focused on the book he had lost track of time, it was noon already. He is late.

"What have you been doing here anyway?" Artemisa asked looking around.

"I was... just.. relaxing."

"Relaxing?" Edwen questioned.

"Well yes. You know how I have been studying 24/7 for the last few weeks, so.. I decided to take a little rest... Anyway I should be going before Al... Sirius finds me and kills me for being late."

Tom hugged them both saying, "I'll see you on the train then. Bye."

He quickly walked away praying to God that siblings wouldn't see the book. He needed to see Stefan and tell him to return it before someone would find it.

"What was that about?" Artemisa asked.

"He had been acting weird lately." Edwen said thoughtfully.

"What do you think is wrong?"

"I have a feeling that the old saying ignorance is bliss can be used here. And I'll be smarter this time and stay ignorant." Edwen said.

Tom quickly run trough the castle trying to find Alkaios. He had bumped into Stefan earlier and informed him about the book he had to leave behind. Tom hoped that elves packed all of his things because he didn't have time to pack them now.

"Alkaios." He quickly run to the older man when he spotted him on the other end of the long hallway. "Sorry I'm late, I was reading and I lost track of time."

"We are going to be late, where have you been?"

"I was at the..."

"Never mind." Alkaios cut him. "We should get going."

Tom just nodded silently.

He followed Alkaios to the main hall where his suitcase was waiting. Tom wanted to start walking out of the door but was surprised when Alkaios stopped him.

"We don't have time for normal traveling." He informed Tom.

Alkaios created a fire circle around them and Tom felt everything going black for a second before he appeared at a grassy field fire circle disappearing.

It looked like they disappeared from Court and reappeared at that deserted field and he hadn't felt anything. It wasn't anything like the normal appiration wizards could do. He noticed that his suitcase wasn't there. Looking around he couldn't see and home or castle. Tom wondered where they should head to.

Alkaios motioned Tom to follow him.

"How do you know where Fabius lives?" Tom questioned after a few minutes of silence.

"I know his grandfather. He is an old friend of mine."

"You knew his grandfather?" Tom asked in disbelief.

"Yes."

"So then... you left the island before. How many times did you leave the island?"

"You already know that a few people living there, work as a normal wizards in Ministry. That's how we stay in touch with happenings around us."

"But the biggest part of the population of the island never went anywhere else."

"True. They enjoy the safety living on the island has."

"Was anybody of those who left the island killed during the last war."

"No. Only the really powerful ones feel secure enough to leave the island. Though, if I recall correctly, one man was hurt. he got hit with some curse."

"When did you meet Fabius' grandfather?"

"Years back. I think he was young man in his twenties back then." Alkaios answered smiling.

"Where did you meet him?"

"I see you are as curious as always." Alkaios said casually.

"So you met him where?" Tom asked again.

"We are almost there. Do you see the house now?"

Tom turned his head away from Alkaios to look at the big house proudly standing on top of a little hill. It was surrounded by a garden made of few different parts. It was an interesting sight to say the least. A wide stony rode was leading trough oak alleys from the bottom of the hill all the way up to the house. Tom had to admit that who ever built a magnificent edifice had a good taste.

"How old is this house?"

"Fabius' great-grandfather built it a few years after my friend, Fabius' grandfather, was born."

"So it's quite new actually." Tom concluded.

"Considering how old other houses of pure-blood families are, yes it is new."

When they finally arrived, the Whitehorn family was already there in the garden waiting to greet them.

Fabius watched in shock as his grandfather greeted Sirius as an old friend, while Tom watched them with curiosity. After all the greeting's were done Fabius' grandfather, Caius, invited them to stay inthe garden for a while.

"You my old friend haven't changed since the last time I saw you. On the other hand my old age is getting me." Caius complained, than turning to Tom said, "And I'm glad to finally meet you boy. Alkaios is speaking quiet highly of you. He is becoming an overly proud guardian if you ask me." The old man said laughing.

However Tom didn't know to answer, Caius just used Alkaios' real name. Fabius was confused, as far as he knew that old man, Tom's new guardian, was named Sirius not Alkaios.

Alkaios looked at Fabius smiling and said "It's funny to have a few manes is it not?"

Mr. Whitehorn also turned towards his son.

"What don't you take Tom to his room?" He suggested.

Fabius just nodded absently and went in the house quietly followed by Tom.

"Father, that was completely unnecessary."

Caius looked at his soon.

"The boy should know."

"This wasn't the best moment to tell him." Mr. Whitehorn argued.

Alkaios turned to the younger man asking "So Fabius doesn't know where his family is from?"

"No." Mr. Whitehorn answered, "We decided that since he would be in school with Tom it would be better if they became friends before we tell him."

"Honey, you know how happy Fabius was when we told him Tom would be coming to stay for one week, and you saw how happy they were to see each other. I don't think we have to worry about Fabius having any ill feeling towards Tom because of..." Mrs. Whitehorn let the sentence unfinished, looking at her husband with eyes full of concern. The truth was, she too was worried how everything would go from now on.

"Just let them talk for a while on their own son, tomorrow we will tell Fabius and Tom all they need to know." Caius said, "They are bright boys, and hopefully the time Fabius would need to sacrifice for Tom will never come, but if it does he would want to sacrifice himself because of the growing friendship, not obligations."

"If that time comes Tom would sacrifice himself." Alkaios said lightly, then changed the topic and turning to Mrs. Whitehorn asked, "How is your medical training going?"

"It's going well. I'm improving." She answered.

"Darling," Mr. Waitehorn said, "you should be more proud of yourself you are amazing."

A small lovely smile played on her lips as she looked at her husband. They excused themselves and went for a walk leaving old friend to their small talk.

"Here's your room." Fabius said opening one of the doors, "My room is the last one in this hallway. And this door are fro bathroom."

Tom just nodded absently. he was paying more attention to the house than to what his friend was saying.

"Devlin might come tomorrow for a dinner with his parents." Fabius informed Tom.

Another nod. Than feeling that Fabius was waiting for him to say something Tom said, "I would be nice if he came."

"Right."

"So...Your grandfather new my guardian. You knew that?"

"No... I thought Edwen's and Artemisa's perants were your guardians."

"They were. Until three years ago when Alkaios took their place." Tom explained.

"His real name is Alkaios then."

"Yeah. Not many people know about it, I was surprised that your grandfather did."

"Whats with the other name then?" Fabius asked.

"He is supposed to be dead so he is hiding behind the Sirius mask."

"Somebody tried to kill him?"

"... kinda."

After a long moment spent in silence Fabius spoke up again.

"Isn't it a bit off that they knew each other and we never knew anything about it."

Tom looked at him.

"Caius and Alkaios? Yes it actually is. I tried to question Alkaios about their friendship a bit but didn't found out anything particular. Just that they met when your grandfather was around twenty... and I think Alkaios was avoiding to tell me where they met."

Fabius laughed.

"What's so funny?"

"Well maybe he didn't want to tell you because they met in some Muggle cafe with those girls and everything."

Tom had to laughed at that.

"Maybe. So what have you been up to whole summer besides going to particular cafes..." Tom taunted.

"I'm only thirteenth!" Fabius protested.

"And I must say I'm disappointed." Tom said seriously, "I though you to be a better man."

"Oh, shut up!" Fabius said trowing a pillow at Tom, who was now laughing at the red face his friend had.

Tom easily caught the thrown pillow still smiling widely.

The day quickly passed and before they knew they were already waking up ready for the new day that was just starting.

The sunbeam that woke Tom up an hour ago was now lighting the wall opposite the window in the empty room. The window had nice a view at the back garden which was where day the Whitehorn family and their guest were having breakfast.

"This is the lovely garden you have Mrs. Whitehorn." Tom complimented.

The woman chuckled lightly, "Thank you Tom. I take care of it all by myself." She said proudly.

"I should have known you love flowers. Maybe I should sent you some." Tom said charmingly.

Fabius rolled his eyes.

"You don't have to bother dear."

"I'm sure there are a few on the island she would love to have." Caius said nonchalantly.

Tom almost choked on his juice. But he quickly regained control over his shock and smiling said, "I thing I know what kind would suit this beautiful garden."

Fabius looked at him grandfather then Tom. What island? He then looked at his parents to see if they are as confused as he didn't seemed to be.

After they all finished eating, Caius stood up.

"Why don't you join me for a walk Tom?" He suggested, "My son and grandson have some important matters to take care of so you might as well accompany me."

"Sure." Tom said while trowing Fabius a questioning glance. His friend obviously didn't know what was going on any better then he did.

They walked a long time Caius lively keeping small talk. Then he turned serious.

"Do you know were our family comes from?"

"No sir."

"From the same island you are now living on. My father left it when I was born with my mother so he could be a link to the outside world that the island needed."

Tom thought about it for a moment, then decided to just memorize everything for later analyzing and to get as much information now as he could.

"Have you ever been on the island?"

"A few times, as did my son. Fabius however doesn't even know it exists. He was kept in dark for the biggest part. He only learned how to use magic without wand and nothing else. As we speak he is being told everthing that was kept away from him before."

Tom staid silent thinking how this could possibly change the friendship he thought he had with Fabius.

"Do you know why I'm telling you this Tom? Once he learns the truth he would need somebody there to make him believe that he isn't being held back by all the obligations he would have form now on."

Tom nodded.

"Our family belonged to the protectors line. I thing you know what that means." Claius said and than continued walking.

Tom hadn't even noticed they stopped. Quickly caching up, he walked besides the older man lost in his own thoughts.

It took him all day to find Fabius again in one of the private salons of the huge house.

"Hey. Everything alright?"

"Yeah. It's just to much to take in at once." Fabius said quietly.

Tom stood at the door awkwardly for a couple of minutes not sure what to do next. He remembered how he once saw two kind at the orphanage sitting next to each other one trying to cheer up the other. Walking a bit uncertainly he sit opposite of Fabius. He really didn't know what to say and he wished that Fabius would say something first, but obviously that wasn't going to happened anytime soon. So Tom decided to tell him about the plan he had to try and teach their Slytherin friends how to use magic without wands and about his idea that gathered most talented kids on the island in Court so they could all study and improve together. At some point Fabius got back to his old curious self and they started talking about everything and anything, laughing and having fun.

But one part of Tom's mind was coldly calculating all the new doors that opened for him. one part of his intelligent brain was calmly making new plans, new possibilities. He knew the war was getting near and he wanted to be on top, the only winner when it ends. For that he was already creating millions of different paths that he could walk down to on his way to victory.

* * *

**author's note: **Once again reminding you that when December starts I'll be going under a new pen-name (unless it's taken) NovemberRiddle

One more maybe interesting thing:

I draw Edwen and Artemisa and you can see them on my deviantArt profile

That's all for now

Ciao, ciao


	35. Back to school

**35. Back to school**

Hogwarts express was chasing towards the Hogwarts castle where students, which were comfortably chatting with each other at that moment, would be starting yet another year of their seven years long education.

Tom watched as a giggling group of girls passed next to the compartment he was in with siblings and Fabius. Siblings had just been told Fabius' secret and were staring at him with eyes full of disbelief, and in Artemisa's case excitement.

Tom sighed and looked back to the corridor.

He never particularly liked that light in her eyes. It spelled trouble. Nothing big really... not some enormous distress, nothing like that. More like... annoying kind of trouble. And Tom was glad he wasn't the target of whatever idea she had in mind. Or at least he thought he wasn't...

Fabius was sitting next to him and Tom could feel how tense he was. He probably felt a little put out by the whole situation and Artemisa's intense staring wasn't helping. Tom told him everything he knew about protectors few day ago and though it wasn't much, it wasn't irrelevant knowledge either, especially considering how little Fabius knew.

Looking at Edwen he saw a firm thoughtful expression. That was just great. He was sharing the compartment with three buggy persons, an overactive one, then slightly abashed one and an overly analytic one. Casting one more glance at them Tom smirked. He knew Edwen and Artemisa were going to start talking in the same time any second now, he mentally counted how loge before they do.

He wasn't disappointed. Before half the minute passed both Artemisa and Edwen said in the same time.

"How good are you at wielding a sword?" Artemisa asked loudly full of enthusiasm.

"Do you think there are others?" Edwen asked thoughtfully, his voice low compared to his sister's yelling.

Tom's smile grew. Weren't they predictable?

Siblings hadn't even looked at each other but continued looking at the person the question was meant for.

"Huh... I don't know I thing I'm quiet good with sword." Fabius answered Artemisa's question insecurely. It was funny how his normal unwavering self confidence was crushed with a single realization.

"Great! We could duel sometime!" Artemisa said happily. Then started talking about some completely off the topic stuff like new inventions from the Weasley shop.

Edwen just continued staring at Tom waiting for an answer to his question. He was used to waiting for Tom's simple answers by now. Even though for the biggest part of time he didn't know why Tom took so long to answer especially to some questions he probably had already thought about.

"Maybe."

Edwen nodded. So he thought.

"Although, I believe they can't be from our island." Tom continued in a low tone, almost a whisper.

Even though he was speaking quietly Artemisa, who was still babbling about something, turned towards him.

"If there were from somewhere else, they are the enemy then." She said.

"Not necessarily," Edwen said, "His family might not be interested in the war that started... or they might not be in contact with whatever place they come from."

"It could be she you know! Still..." Artemisa mumbled to herself thinking about all the people she met at Hogwarts.

Tom guessing the way her thoughts headed and said, "We should be more worried of the people that came latter then the ones that were already there."

She nodded absentmindedly. She really didn't want to loose any of her friends.

Fabius silently stood up and turning towards Tom said, "I'm going to see Devlin and the rest of the group. Wanna come?"

Tom just shook his head then just before Fabius closed the door added, "I'll see them once we arrive at Hogwarts."

The door slid shut and sibling looked at Tom. Noticing their gaze Tom turned to look at them raising a brow questionably.

"Nothing." Artemisa muttered standing up and leaving the compartment.

Edwen on the other hand continued looking at him.

"What?" Tom snapped.

"Just wondering..."

Tom sighed irritated.

Taking a book out of his backpack he decided to just ignore Edwen until he leaves, which he did few minutes later.

Closing the book he was reading the second Edwen exited the compartment, Tom looked out of the window to the quickly passing trees and green lends. Getting up he opened the window and stood there letting the warm breeze caress his face. Trying to calm down he took deep methodical breaths.

He needed to get a hold on his emotions, but the fear he was trying to hid was eating him up, making him cranky and anxious. He hadn't told anyone about his last encounter with Salazar Slytherin during the end of the last school year, and while he had a more or less carefree summer while he was at the island, he knew that once he returned to Hogwarts he would no longer be safe. It was quiet ironic how the place that was once his safest refuge was now the place he dread to return to.

After the security on the island was increased and all of his spies killed Salazar didn't dare to show his face on the island. Hogwarts, however, was another story. After all, who knew the place better then one of the founders? Hogwarts was Salazar Slytherin grounds and Tom had no-one to protect him there. Nor could he have anyone without giving some important information out.

He would just have to relay on his cunning skills and pray to whatever god or supernatural force was watching him that he survives the coming year.

Sighing, he closed the window and collapsed on his sit.

A light knock interrupted his staring at the ceiling. The door slid open and Emma stepped in a warm greeting smile on her lips.

Her eyes scanned the empty compartment before meeting Tom's annoyed gaze. Smile disappeared from her lips as she tilted her head for an inch.

"Alone again?" She observed.

Tom just returned his gaze to the ceiling. If he ignored her, maybe she would leave. She is the main reason he is in this mess in the first place.

Unfortunately she didn't. She just sat at the available sit and started rustling with papers she brought with her. Once she found the paper she was looking for silence fell on them.

For a few moments anyway.

"I know why you wanted to learn to play a piano." Emma informed him.

Tom trow a quick glance at her, then went back to studying the ceiling.

"Unlike the rest of them I found it strange that you would spend your time on music when you could be stuck at the library all day."

Tom continued to pretend he that he was ignoring her, while he was actually carefully listening everything she said.

"I did a research about music in magic world." Emma continued knowing Tom most likely listened to everything she said, "At first I couldn't find anything that would prove my theory that you are studying music because of it's connection to spells, so I started going trough some weird books looking for anything that could have even a smallest link to the music."

While she spook Tom wondered how did he miss her obvious stubborn refusal to give up before she satisfies her curiosity. He always thought that while Emma was a bookworm it was Idris who was overly analytical and knowledge thirsty, but he overlooked the difference between their interests.

Idris wanted to know everything, true. But she was living in those book, she wasn't observant enough, she was missing the things going around her and therefor her curiosity was based on theories she herself created or found in books. Emma, on the other hand, was a careful watcher of her surrounding. She created theories based on what she saw and suspected and then persistently worked to prove them.

Emma was still talking, but Tom was only half listening. He was going over everything he thought about her trying to figure out how would this knew information change what he already thought about her.

"... am I not correct?"

Her question was met with silence.

"Are you even listening to me? Tom!"

"You were saying?"

"Jerk! I asked if I was correct that you were going to try to control emotions by playing music. That's the only thing that many wizards tried so far that is connected to music, but that idea had many problems and eventually they gave up. And why are you willing to try it when you can just use a potion?"

"Controlling someones emotions with potions has many disadvantages don't you agree?"

"It does, but it works. How are you planing on making the instrument magical so that they could control someones emotions by sound?"

"That problem is easy to overcome." Tom answered lightly.

"How?" Emma repeated.

Tom looked at her, "You'll agree that the problem is actually passing your magic abilities to the instrument you are playing... like when you are using your wand, you concentrate on.. lets say.. pushing your magic into the wand before preforming a spell."

Emma nodded.

"So I would need to push that magic into the instrument."

"But that's impossible." Emma said.

"Is not." Tom assured her, "Tell me did you do any magic before you got that wand?"

"Yeah. Everyone did." Emma said shrugging, then understanding crossed her face and her eyes narrowed, "But we use wands so we could control magic how are you going to control your powers without wand?"

Tom looked back to ceiling smiling broadly.

"You'll see."

She questionably glanced at him before leaving the compartment without another word. She knew when the conversation was over.

Tom looked at the closed door. Tonight he'll show them what real control of magic is all about.

* * *

"Will you tell us what we are doing on seventh floor in a hallway that leads absolutely nowhere?" Laurentia asked Tom for what seemed to be the millionth time in the past five minutes since he had arrived.

"Once everyone are here yes."

"Here they come." Devlin said as he saw Emma and Idris walking towards them.

"This better be good Tom." Emma said when she and Idris reached them, "Especially since we are supposed to be in bed right now."

Tom ignored her.

"You know you could choose someplace nearer the common room for the meeting place next time." Idris complained.

"I had a perfect reason choosing this place." Tom informed them, then added, "Emma should know why."

Laurentia, Idris and Devlin looked at the said girl.

Trying to escape all the attention Emma asked Tom, "Are we waiting for somebody else?"

"No." He answered her standing in front of the wall where the door were slowly starting to appear.

"So why are we here?" Laurentia asked.

"Even better question," Devlin said, "Why aren't some other people here?"

"They already know." Tom answered.

"Know what? About this room?" Idris questioned.

"Yeah they know about the Room of Requirement, but that's not why you are here. Emma wouldn't be here either in that's the case."

Tom walked towards the sofas gracefully falling on one. He waited till all of them flopped on one too.

"Now tell me, do you thing it's possible to use magic without wand?"

Devlin nodded in the same time Laurentuia said "Yes. Kids do it." And Idris said "Yeah".

Emma stayed silent.

"Right... Do you think you could do it?"

They all looked at him questionably.

Idris spoke up first, "Doing magic without wand is something you do when you lose control."

"Exactly." Devlin agreed puzzled.

A glass of water appeared on the table between them.

"Really? So you think it's impossible to control magic without wand?"

"It might be possible..." Laurentia said thoughtfully, "but it would be really hard to do it."

Tom looked at the glass on the table and everyone followed his gaze. The glass lifted from the table and staid in the air like an invisible hand was holding it there. They all looked at Tom who's gaze was still firmly placed on the glass. Lowering his gaze towards the table the glass followed. when it was on the table again Tom looked away from it to the shocked faces surrounding him.

"Did you do that?" Emma asked.

Tom raised a brow obviously questioning Emma's ability for connecting dots between simple things.

"How did you do that?" Devlin asked.

"It's easy. Do you care to learn?"

"A... yeah. Who wouldn't be." Laurentia said.

Tom smiled at her.

"Great then starting next week we will meat here every Saturday at right after dinner."

"So all of us should be able to do that?" Emma asked.

"I guess we will see if you can or can't use magic like this in a month. The most important thing for using magic like this is willpower and strong mind... and big magical talents. It's easy to use such power when you are strangle in the see of emotions like anger and sorrow, but a lot harder to master it when you are calm. It takes a lot of concentration until you get used to using magic like this when it would become normal to you."

Tom was thoughtful for a moment before he continued, "It's kinda like using Unforgivable Curses or Occlumency and Legilimency."

"How so?" Devlin questioned.

"You need to be really powerful for Unforgivable Curse to have the real effect and amazing concentration for both Occlumency and Legilimency... I think I have an idea how we could test if you could control magic without wand or not..."

"Really how?" Idris asked excited.

Tom stood up and walked to the door.

"You'll see on Saturday. Good night."

With that he exited the room.

"He better not be thinking that we are going to do an Unforgivable Curse." Emma said icily.

"Why not?" Devlin asked.

Emma turned to face him her eyes dangerously sparkling.

"Are you saying you would have no problem performing them?"

"Am... no, I mean yes. I... I wouldn't perform them on somebody."

"Right... And I thought Tom was the only one who didn't care about morals here." Emma said sighing.

* * *

**Author's note: **

Nothing important so say I think... nope, nothing

Till next chapter

ciao, ciao =)


	36. Nonverbal magic

**36. Nonverbal magic**

Emma, Laurentia, Idris, Devlin, Artemisa and Tom entered the Room of Requirement.

"Fabius isn't here?" Laurentia questioned.

"He already knows to use magic without wand." Tom reminded her.

"So do I." Artemisa stated, "But I was curious to see if they can do it," She said nodding towards the Slytherins, "And I can't understand why Edwen and Fabius aren't."

Devlin mumbled something that sounded like cursing Fabius.

Emma sighed.

"He is your best friend Devlin stop being such jerk."

"Was! Best friends don't hid from you they can use magic without wands." Devlin shot back.

"He couldn't tell you! It was a secret! And before you even say that friends share everything I'm sure there are a lot of things you never said to him! Stop being such a child! Damn you! Stupid male brains!"

"I'm offended." Tom said.

"Why are you offended?" Emma asked.

"You just put every male in the same category as the blond idiot." He explained.

"Excuse me ego boy."

"Someone's in a bad mood today." Artemisa said.

"She was trying to get Fabius and Devlin talk to each other all week." Idris explained, "I think their stubborn refusal is getting on her nerves."

Emma just muttered something to herself, while Artemisa nodded with understanding. She tried to get Edwen and Tom talk once before, and therefor knew how stupid and stubborn boys could be sometimes.

"Listen up guys..." Tom started but was interrupted by Laurentia.

"Most of us are girls here, you could use that term."

"Okay, listen up _girls... _and Devlin, you see targets on that wall, you are going to stand three meters away from them and try to hit them with a spell without saying the spell out loud."

"Nonverbal magic?" Idris questioned, "Isn't that learned on sixth or seventh year of studying at Hogwarts?"

"It is." Tom said calmly.

"Then _how _do you expect us to do it?" Emma asked.

"Nonverbal magic is a simply said more of a talent then a skill you could learn, and truthfully I don't expect any of you to _ever_ be able to use the most complicated spells that way. But if you do have some talent for nonverbal magic you should be able to do easy spells even now."

"Why would be trying to do nonverbal magic, we use wand for it." Devlin said.

"Yes, but the your mind would need the same level of concentration and willingness as when you are doing magic without wand, so in theory if you can do nonverbal magic, you should be able to learn to use magic without wand too. Not to mention that many powerful wizards can't do nonverbal magic." Tom explained.

"Can you do nonverbal magic?" Idris asked.

"Yes."

"Prove it." Laurentia said.

"What spell do you want me to do?" Tom asked nonchalantly.

"Avada Kedavra." Devlin suggested.

Emma hit him the second name of the spell left his lips.

"Ouch! That was unnecessary."

"That's a killing curse you idiot!"

"I'm well aware of what that curse is, thank you."

"Then how can you suggest it?"

"Why not?" Devlin asked lightly.

Emma looked at him like he had lost his mind.

"Am... Maybe because it is used to...I don't know... KILL people!"

"So? He is gonna shot the targets not us."

"You know that spell should be hard to preform even if you are saying the curse out loud," Idris reasoned, "And I think it would be interesting to see the curse, if Tom really can do it."

"Why the hell am I in Slytherin house?" Emma wandered out loud.

"Good question." Tom commented, "So the killing curse?"

Slytherins nodded.

Tom took out his wand and easily hit the target ten meters away, without saying a word. The wall exploded.

Artemisa was trying to hold in her laughter. Slytherins were looking at the wall with simple amazement and admiration written all over their faces, except from Emma who was watching the whole scene with shock and disgust.

"There you go." Tom said smiling.

"Unbelievable." Emma said, "You actually did the Unforgivable curse and you are smiling! I'm leaving this room."

She got up to leave when her hand was grabbed by Tom. He easily maneuvered her back to the sofa she had been sitting on.

"Can't have that." He informed her calmly, "You are either staying here with us, or I'll have to erase your memories so you wouldn't remember that there is a possibility to use magic without wand."

Emma looked at him, then the wall, then back at him. Slumping down further in her seat she whispered something to herself that sounded strangely like _he scares me sometimes _and _how did I get myself in this mess._

Turning towards others Tom saw them looking at Emma with confusion, they didn't understand why she would miss the chance to learn such powerful way of using magic or why using a killing curse on a simple target bothered her so much.

Truth to be told, neither did Tom. It wasn't the first time he wandered why Sorting hat put her in Slytherin and it certainly wouldn't be the last.

She wasn't cold, self-centered and cruel like most Slytherins were (himself included), but kind and caring. She was obviously lacking in self-confidence that most Slytherins had for donating. The only skills typical for the said house that she had were her intelligence and cunning skills, the later one being a skill she rarely used. She should had been placed in Ravencloaw. Unless she had a deep desire to be recognized and to be the best, desire that she was hiding well.

Sighing, Tom looked at the targets. The girl was a living puzzle, much like he was. Maybe that was why he felt attached. He wanted her as a friend more then he wanted others in the room (if you count out Artemisa who was more like a little sister to him, annoying little sister).

"Right, so you'll all go and try, when you think you got it right call me so I could make sure that you aren't cheating and whispering whichever spell you choose to perform instead of just thinking about it in your mind. Try to use a spell that you are the most familiar with, spell for which you know how it feels when you are using it. You need to concentrate on the spell you are going to use, try concentrating on performing the spell for starts, then when you successfully trow a spell you'll stay in front of your target trying to actually hit it."

"Why wouldn't we try to hit an unmoving target right away?" Laurentis questioned.

"It's hard to control the spell this way until you really know what you are doing, so you don't need to think about hitting the center right now. Actually you don't have to think about it at all. I just want to see this way if you would be capable of learning to use magic without wand or not."

They all nodded.

"If you need any help... if you know what you need help with, call me. Anyway targets are over there, you may go and try."

Their excitement was quickly replaced by nervousness.

"I thing that ladies should have the chance to try first." Devlin said.

Tom raised a brow.

"Devlin, I thought you would have already tried something on your own since your family doesn't really care if you use magic outside of school or not."

"I didn't try anything." Devlin informed him.

"Pity. Now get up and go and stand in front of a target."

Idirs was already in front of her target preforming spells out loud trying to decide which would be the easiest to perform like a nonverbal spell. Laurentia casually walked to her target and taking the wand out closed her eyes trying to concentrate. Devlin walked to his target trying to not show how insecure he was. He never saw his parents use nonverbal magic and was afraid to try it. Emma didn't leave her sofa.

Tom turned toward her looking at her questionably.

"I would rather not try anything."

Artemisa came towards Tom and pushed him towards the others whispering, "Go see how others are doing I'll take care of her."

Then turning towards Emma once Tom left she smiled brightly. Emma just ignored her looking towards door. Artemisa's smile disappeared.

"You can't go out."

Emma sighed and looked at her.

"Why not?"

"Because no-one must know about possibility of using magic wandless."

"You think I would tell somebody?"

"... No."

"Then why can't I..."

"Shut up and listen for a second." Artemisa cut her, "You have a chance that to learn something that every wizard would gave their hand to be able to learn. You might or you might not be capable of such magic control, but trust me when I say this, this kind of magic is going to be something that you'll soon need more then anything else... unless of course you want to die."

"Tom wouldn't kill me." Emma said quietly.

"Who was talking about Tom? I'm talking about a war that's practically knocking on our door and whatever you like it or not you are going to be dragged in it." Artemisa finished coldly.

Emmas eyes fell on the ground. She remembered those dark clocked figures that appeared everywhere at the beginning of her second school year, now year later she was being told that another wizard war was going to start. Shivers run trough her body and down her spine. Her unhappy thought were interrupted by Lurentia's happy call.

"Oh, Tom!" She called in a sing song voice.

The second boy turned around to look at her she smirked easily casting a spell on him which he managed to counter only due to his fast reflexes. Shock slightly visible in his eyes, though for the biggest part his face stayed calm and collected.

On the other side of the room Artemisa was openly displaying shock that her adopted brother hided. That spoiled _princess _mastered nonverbal magic before anybody else? That was...well saying unexpected would be a huge underestimating, but... yeah, it was unexpected.

"So what do you say?" Laurentia asked happily.

Tom smiled at her, "Took you only fifteen minutes, I'm more then amazed."

"Amazement is a small word." Idris silently whispered to herself.

Devlin was just as shocked as Artemisa was. Turning towards his target he concentrated dead set to succeed. Emma got up and walked toward one of the targets. If Laurenta can do it so can she. She had better marks, and was a better student. Last time she and Laurenta dueled she had won and she wasn't planing to lose to her friend anytime soon.

It took Devlin and Idris another half an hour to do successfully cast a nonverbal spell and deciding that they had enough practice for that evening the two left the room.

Laurentia was still there as she had decided to help Emma since Tom was to busy dueling Artemisa at the other side of the room.

"Come on you can do it. Don't get down because of this, you started later then they did." Laurentia tried to cheer the disappointed girl up, "You just need to empty that had of yours from all problems and concentrate on the spell you want to cast."

Emma nodded trying to calm down and concentrate only on her wand and the spell she was about to perform.

"Hey Emma!" Tom called out, braking her concentration.

"What?" She snapped.

"Duel me." Tom instructed.

"I'm trying to do..." She didn't have time to finish her sentence as Tom casted a spell on her.

Quickly countering the spell Emma casted one on her own saying it out loud. The duel continued with Tom mostly casting a nonverbal spells that Emma had trouble avoiding and her casting verbal spells that Tom easily countered. It was obvious to her that Tom was just fooling around and that if she wanted to catch him by surprise she would need to successfully cast a nonverbal spell and even then she probably wouldn't win. Still Tom couldn't just make fun of her like this. Rage burned inside her and she casted her next spell with more force than necessary. It gave her a second to concentrate to cast her next spell since the power of it throw Tom off balance for one precious moment. He was probably surprised by the force that her spell had. She used that moment to try and cast another spell still angry on the way Tom had been playing with her. Tom successfully countered her spell and putting his wand away said, "That would be enough for tonight."

At the same time Laurentia jumped at her hugging her, "That's our little Muggle-born. Well done Emma. I knew you could do it."

"Do what?" Emma questioned.

"Nonverbal magic silly."

Artemisa laughed, "She was so concentrated on kicking Tom's ass she hadn't noticed she casted a spell without saying a word."

"She would need a lot more to defeat me." Tom said nonchalantly.

"Lets return to the common room now." Laurentia suggested.

"I guess I'll be seeing you then worms." Artemisa said exiting the room.

"Hey!Who do you thing you are calling a worm!" Laurentia called angrily after her, then turning towards her friends said, "Can you believe that Gryffindor... Gryffindor... little help here."

"Annoying kitty?" Tom suggested.

"No not kitty, that's nice, worms aren't... something else..."

Emma just laughed at her friend. She knew that Laurentia had set her mind on finding a fitting nickname for Gryffindor girl and wouldn't gave up until she had a good one.

Looking at Tom she sighed, she couldn't believe how easily he manipulated her into being angry. Thinking about hoe easily he manipulated people all the time she started to wander if she was correct about Tom wanting to learn to play piano for music manipulation of peoples emotions, but she couldn't think of anything else. However she was entirely sure that Tom had a hidden motive that was in connection with instruments. That was the way his mind worked, and it just wouldn't be Tom if he didn't have something sneaky going trough his head.

She might be able to get more information from Idris without the girl actually knowing why she was interested in the subject. Smiling she decided that that should be easy. No matter what the others thought, she really wasn't in Slytheirn for nothing.

* * *

**Author's note: **Thank you all for reading

For all of you interested I put my deviantART and twitter profile link on my profile

That's all for now

Till next chapter

Ciao, ciao


	37. Toxin

**37. Toxin**

"Idris." Emma greeted the girl happily earning an vituperative look from the librarian.

Idris looked up from the book and smiled.

"I swear you spend more time in library then even Tom does. And he bets all the Ravenclaws." Emma said in a hushed voice.

"There probably aren't many books he could read here." Idris reasoned, "Otherwise he would be unbeatable."

"True." Emma agreed, "So what are you reading?"

"Oh, this. It's just some book about magical creatures."

"I didn't know you were interested in them."

"I'm not. I came across an interesting thing while reading a potion book and decided to check it."

"Can I see it?" Emma asked.

"Sure." Idris pushed the book to her.

"I've seen something like this..."

"Really?"

"Yes. In Muggle mythology. But I don't remember much about it..."

"Oh." Idris sounded disappointed as she dragged the book back to look at the creature again.

"You know what, I can ask my mum to send me some mythology book I have at home and you can borrow them if you want."

"That would be... awesome."

"We should probably head to our next class." Emma said, looking towards a huge pile of books next to Idris she took a few in her hands, "Let me help you with those."

"Thanks."

Idris walked towards the shelves followed by Emma.

"Only one more." Idris mumbled to her self trying to remember from where she took the last book in her hands.

Emma leaned against the closest shelf and looking at the two books she was still holding asked, "I was always wandering can wizards do magic with instruments."

"No, not really." Idris answered.

"Why do you think that's impossible?"

"After Tom levitating that glass without wand, I don't think its impossible just really hard. Why are you even asking all of this?" She questioned looking at her friend and taking the two books from her hands, "Those are from potion section. Is Tom trying to use magic on instruments?"

"No. It's just... I'm good at playing piano and after seeing Tom levitating that glass I started wondering if there would be any chance that I could connect my musical knowledge with magic."

"It might be possible..." Idris said thoughtfully.

"What do you think it could be used for?" Emma asked.

"I don't know... emotion control maybe. Manipulating."

"But wizards already have potions and spells for that." Emma reminded her.

"True. But with potions and spells you are limited to a small number of people you are manipulating, usually one. By playing music you could control a larger group of people. You could control a hall full of around few hundreds people ...maybe even more. Not to mention that avoiding a sound would be way harder than avoiding a spell or a potion and effect would be easier to change. You would just need to change the music you are playing or stop playing it."

"That does make sense...still, why would somebody want to control so many people in the same time? Especial if they would hear the same song and therefor have the same reaction" Emma mumbled to herself.

"It doesn't have to be a big number of people. Playing music to control somebodies emotions or maybe even mind is something quiet unpredictable. Anybody would fall for it."

"You are right. Now lets get to the class or Mrs. Bahbting is going to transfer us into some ugly frogs for being late."

* * *

"Emma." Tom whispered.

"Hm?" She questioned still looking at professor.

Tom pushed her hand slightly. Transfiguration was the only class, besides the potions, where the two set together.

"What?" She asked irritatedly. She didn't want Mrs. Bahbting to catch her talking, she was sure the said professor hated her already.

Tom pushed her a piece of paper.

She carefully took it and started to read, she only got trough a first few words when Mrs. Bahbting took the paper out of her hands with a swing of wand.

"I will not tolerate messaging in my class Ms. Rynolds. Ten points from Slytherin."

"Ten point!" Emma whispered to herself angrily, "That's not fair."

"Do you have anything you would like to say?" The teacher questioned.

"No Mrs. Bahbting, I do not." She answered silently.

"Right. Now lets see what was so important that you weren't paying attention to my class." Mrs. Bahbting said.

Emma heard Tom whisper something next to her. One of the window glass broke and professor turned to fix it. Emma, now paying closer attention to Tom heard him whisper, "Metatithemi epistole."

Turning back to her table professor took the paper in her hand and started reading it,

"Emma, I have been secretly following you for some time now and I really like you. I would love to take you out to Hogsmeade next weekend. I would like if you would meet me near the book store at 11 o'clock. Forever yours... Haven't been signed."

Some student's turned to look at Emma, who was as red as she could possibly be, others were laughing like crazy and one girl was looking around obviously trying to find who had sent the letter.

"I am going to kill you Tom Riddle." Emma whispered angrily to him.

On the dinner that night Emma was still upset with everything that happened that day on the transfiguration class. At least she didn't get detention, but she got strange looks from a few people. And the second Tom set across from her she started ranting at him.

"A love letter, really? Do you enjoy embarrassing me? Wait, that was a wrong question wasn't it. It's quiet obvious that you do."

"It was the first thing that crossed my mind when Mrs. Bahbting took the message from you. I couldn't let her read it. We would be sitting on a nice detention if I did."

"Love letter first crossed your mind?" Devlin questioned, "You are scaring me sometimes."

"I just got another one yesterday, okay."

"You get love letters?" Fabius asked.

"And why does that stupid teacher hate me so much anyway?" Emma continued to rave.

"Because you are muggle-born." Daisy suggested.

"Oh, hi Daisy. Haven't seen you there." Devlin said, "But isn't Mrs. Bahbting also muggle-born?"

"She is." Daisy confirmed.

"Then why would she hate Emma?" Laurentia asked.

"Emma is in Slytherin isn't she?"

"So?"

"Soooo she is accepted by pure-blood families as well as well respected half-bloods. Mrs. Bahbting had many problems because of her blood back when she was in school during Voldemort time."

"How do you know all that stuff?" Laurentia asked amazed.

"Then she is jealous for nothing." Emma commented.

"How so?"

"I don't really think I am as accepted as she thinks." Emma said looking to the other end of the table, "There are still lot of Slytherins that hate me."

"Not everybody can love you Emma." Tom said, "Besides most of Slytherins did accept you."

"You mean after two years they got used to me being in the same house they are in and decided that, since they can't avoid me, they can ignore me."

"Apparently you don't understand how great they act towards you considering a fact you are mud-blood. Ouch! Why did you kick me?" Tom complained.

"It's muggle-born." Emma corrected him icily.

"That's what I meant. Ouch! Will you stop hitting me?"

"That one was for a love letter."

"You know most girls would be flattered to get a love letter from me even if it is just to get the real message covered."

"I pity those girls."

Fabius rolled his eyes at the two.

"Anyway you never told me what the message was."

"Oh, did you do your homework from Potions?"

"No."

"Then we could do it together after dinner."

"Am... sure."

"Hi guys, little muggle."

"Hi Terry." Emma smiled at him.

"Have you heard?"

"Heard what?" Devlin questioned.

"About that girl from Hufflepuff, that came here for her seventh year. You know who I'm talking about right?"

Everyone nodded.

"She almost died on her potion class today. Her potion exploded and she ended up in hospital after she nearly got burn."

"Is she recovering now?" Tom asked.

"Yes."

"We had potions earlier today, remember the unfinished samples professor showed us. He said that seventh-years were doing them. What was the potion again?" Laurentia said.

"You are right... Isn't that strange, why would her potion explode and others didn't. All of those unfinished potions looked same to me." Idris said.

"Maybe she added something wrong latter on." Tom suggested.

"They were making Antialphos weren't they?" Fabius asked.

"Antialphos?" Din questioned.

"Potion against some skin diseases." Idris explained.

"That's just weird. Why would somebody make such a big mistake in the last stage of making the potion?" Laurentia questioned.

"Good point." Idris said thoughtfully.

"Don't you think you are creating a huge mess about a simple thing. She probably just accidently dropped something in her potion that triggered the explosion." Tom said.

"Yeah, you are right."

"I always am. Anyway Emma ready to go to the library?"

"Like a date. Library is lame Tom." Fabius taunted him.

"You would know." Tom shot back.

* * *

The next morning, when the Slytherins entered the Great hall, they were surprised to find it all in black.

"What happened here?" Laurentia asked as she set next to Daisy.

"Haven't you heard, that girl, she died last night."

"I thought she was recovering."

"That's what everyone thought." Din said.

Idris decided that she didn't want to talk about such morbid things and changed the topic.

"So Emma what did Tom show you last night?"

The girl seemed to be spaced out and didn't answer the question.

"Emma?"

"Sorry what?"

"Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, it's nothing. Just... I can't believe that that girl died like that. It's sad. Why haven't anybody helped her?"

"I heard that she woke up in pain late at night and medic gave her a glass of potion to drink, then when she returned a few moments later the girl was already dead." Daisy said.

"How do you know everything?" Laurentia asked.

"Why do you care?"

"Cause I wish I knew at least half of the things you do."

"Really? Then I'll tell you... I have my sources."

"So the girl died after drinking the potion that was supposed to help her?" Fabius asked.

"I don't know if she did or didn't drink the potion." Daisy informed them.

"Wait, what are you suggesting, that she was killed? That's impossible. Hogwarts is the safest place in England." Devlin said.

"From the outside attacks. But from the inside?" Laurentis asked thoughtfully.

"Lets not talk about such dark things guys." Idris pleaded, "It all scares me. Lets talk about something else. For example Emma you were with Tom last nigh what did you two do?"

"Oh, we went to old dulling classroom, you know the one next to the..."

"Emma?"

"I... I just remembered... I have to go."

Emma run trough the hallways trying to get to the Slytherin common room as fast as she could. Thinking about last night she fasted up her steps.

Flash back

"Finished your homework yet?"

"I'm almost done. Will you tell me what is it you want to show me?"

"No."

"Come on. Why not?"

"You should learn to be patient you know that?"

"Look who is talking." Emma mumbled.

"Finnish your homework already the library would be closing soon." Tom smiled.

"I'm done."

"Lets go then. Leave the books on the table elves would return them."

Tom walked quickly trough the hallways.

"This room would do."

"Old dulling room? I'm not dulling you."

"Who said you would be dulling me? Thought this place would probably be better then any other since the hospital wing is just down the hallway and we know who would lose the dull between the two of us."

Emma ignored his smug comment.

"This is what I wanted to show you." Tom said taking a small nicely ornamented box out of his backpack. Moonlight hit the crystals decorating the box and it glittered in the darkness.

"What is that?"

"A music box. It always make me fell relaxed, that's why I wanted to learn to play piano."

"Oh, that's so sweet. Can I?"

"Sure here."

Tom handed Emma the music box and she eagerly opened it and listed to the music playing for a long time enchanted by the melody and playing of moonlight on box's surface. She finally closed it and looking up at Tom who was leaning against the wall looking to the hallway.

"It's beautiful." Emma sighed.

He smile at her, eyes filled with warm light. "It really is."

End of flash back

If the girl really was poisoned, Tom should have seen anybody who passed next to the door of the classroom they were in. That was the only way towards the hospital wing.

Entering the common room she noticed that Tom was the only one in it. Other students were either on breakfast or in the library.

"Tom!"

He turned towards her.

"Hey."

She run towards the place he was sitting.

"I have to ask you something."

She stopped for a second to catch her breath and then suddenly turned towards Tom's backpack.

"Did I just hear hissing?"

"What?" Tom asked confused.

"There it is again."

"You wanted to ask me something."

"Do you have a snake in your backpack?"

"No."

"No?"

"No. Are you crazy? Why would I have a snake?"

Emma quickly tried to grab his pack, but Tom was faster. He grabbed her hand before she could even touch it.

"That wouldn't be the smartest thing to do Emma."

"So you do have a snake! Are you insane it can bite you!"

Tom raised his brows.

"Parseltongue." He reminded her.

"It could hurt somebody else then."

Sighing he let go of her hand. "She could but she won't"

"She?"

"Yes. Her name is Agrona. Derived from the old Celtic _agro_ meaning battle or slaughter. This was the name of the goddess of war and death."

"Goddess of death? You gave your snake a name slaughter, killing! You are officially gone insane."

"Whatever. You wanted to ask me something."

"Yes..." Emma said still looking at his backpack with worried eyes, "Have you seen anybody last nigh?"

"I'm not sure I understand the question."

"Last night, when you showed me that music box... Oh my God! pleas don't let me be right."

Tom just looked at her confused.

"You somehow successfully made that music box control me didn't you. Pleas tell me I'm wrong." She said looking at him.

Tom got up and hugged her.

"Now why would I do that."

"Just tell me if I'm wrong or not Tom."

"You are."

Emma sighed with relief. Then tensed again. Looking up Tom's dark eyes her own narrow.

"Look me in the eyes and tell me that I am."

"You are wrong." He repeated calmly, "Why don't you trust me?"

"Because you hugged me. You only touch when you are hiding something."

"I haven't enchanted that music box Emma."

"But you found that music box somewhere." She said sarcastically.

Tom's face cleared of all emotions. Only a blank innocent smile on his lips.

"So you did find the box. And you did control me with it."

"Define control." Tom said letting go of her and collapsed back on the sofa. "The box is actually working by centering all of your attention to it for a few minutes."

"Why would you want me to concentrate on the box?"

"I thought you were more intelligent then that." Tom said lightly.

"I'm trying to be in denial right now and you aren't helping."

"I thought you would figure it out." Tom said tiredly almost to himself.

"Of course I would figure it out. For the last two years I was watching you, trying to understand you. You might act all normal but you are everything but. There's always an aura around you that only the most observant ones notice and for the biggest part try to recreate the way you think in their mind, while less intelligent ones don't notice it and either avoid you without really knowing why they dislike you or they are fooled by your charms and charisma."

"You just admitted you figured everything out, I thought you were in denial."

"I'm talking about music box, what were you talking about?" Emma shoot back.

"Good one. ... Wanna come to the Chamber with me? I have to leave the little one there." Tom said looking at his backpack.

"Are you joking?"

"Why not?" Tom asked amused.

"I'm afraid of snakes."

"Interesting. The symbol of your house is a snake."

"If symbol was the lion that wouldn't mean I'm not afraid of it."

"Lion symbolize bravery so it should."

"Courage is only the well-hidden fear." Emma answered.

"I'm impressed. I never thought I would hear something like that from you princess."

"What was that supposed to mean?"

"That your philosophy about courage is in contradiction to your talks about morals."

"You don't even know what morals are." Emma said icily.

"Rules or habits of conduct, especially of sexual conduct, with reference to standards of right and wrong." Tom said immediately.

"That's an old dictionary explanation."

"How else do you expect me to explain?" Tom asked.

"Stop fulling around. You killed that girl!"

"So you aren't in denial anymore?"

"Not funny Tom! How could you?"

"Easily." Tom answered lightly.

Emma looked around the room. The two of them were still alone.

"So wanna come with me to the Chamber?"

"I told you I'm afraid of snakes." Emma reminded him.

"Oh, Agrona won't hurt you."

"That's not the snake I'm afraid of. God, I have to be insane for being in the same room with you right now."

"No, not insane. Just missing survival instincts."

"You know I could tell professors what you did."

"You could," Tom agreed, "But you won't."

"What makes you sure I won't talk?"

"Hmm..."

"Well?" Emma pressed.

"Are you going to tell the others?"

"No. Fabius probably figured it out before I did, and others would be better off not knowing... You don't really care if they do find out, am I right?"

"Yes."

"I think you are suffering from an enormous case of insanity."

"Please Emma, I don't suffer from insanity, I enjoy every single moment of it."

"Tushay."

"Besides you are way crazier then I am."

"Actually I just prefer to be on the side of the devil I know then against the one I don't. And as an enemy you are unpredictable, so I'm just choosing a safer side."

"You are weird." Tom commented.

"Better weird then ordinary won't you agree. Ordinary is boring. Now tell me how exactly you killed that girl?"

"Why would you care?"

"To know what to avoid." Emma answered immediately.

"Hmm... I put some ingredients in her potion when professor showed us what seven-years were doing. It was supposed to kill her, however when she survived I had to come up with another way that in case someone suspects a murder wouldn't have a reason to suspect me."

"So when we went to that room last night you waited until I fell under a spell of the music box and then went and poisoned the medicine she was drinking."

"Correct."

"Why did you choose me to be your alibi? I'm sure Fabius would have fit the roll even better. And so would Edwen and Artemisa. Unless..."

"I chose you because you are more innocent looking then Fabius and no-one would suspect you. Besides you are a terrible liar and if you knew nothing no-one else would."

"But why didn't you chose one of the siblings? The only logical explanation would be that you are in some trouble and they would have figured it out."

"I'm not in any trouble." Tom answered nonchalantly, "Come on we are going to be late for class."

"Don't change subject mister. You are in some trouble aren't you? Tom! I'm talking to you! Stop ignoring me! Damn him."

Emma looked after him as he left the common room. He killed that poor muggle-born... Oh, no. Emma quickly run after him.

"You killed that muggle-born girl because of her blood?" She yelled after him.

"Will you keep your voice down."

"No I won't!"

"She wasn't mud-blood. She just pretended to be. Her family is from... "

Hell! He messed up. Salazar was going to kill him! How was he going to get the memories from a dead person. He started walking away panicking deep in thoughts.

Emma followed him. "Her family was from where?"

"Shut it Emma!" Tom snapped.

"Excuse me?"

"Shut it alright? I'm already in trouble."

"So you are in trouble."

"Am not!"

"You just said you are!"

"Did not!"

"Yes you did Tom! And you obviously need help!"

"I don't need any help Emma. You understand. I. Don't. Need. Help. And you are going to keep your mouth shut or I'll shut it for you." Tom yelled angrily storming away.

"He is gonna be death to me." Emma muttered.

She needed to tell siblings that something was going on whatever he liked it or not. He might be a total jerk sometimes, alright most of the times, but he had his good moments. Or she had thought he did, after tricking her so easily last night she wasn't sure what to think anymore...

Still... he was the only one who stood up for her when everyone turned their backs because of her muggle family. She still appreciated that, cause if he didn't she wouldn't be on Hogwarts right now... More then anything she felt obligated to return the favor.

So whatever he liked it or not he was getting help to drag himself out of whatever mess he was suck in.

* * *

**Author's note:** So what do you think?

Smile =)

And try to keep smiling even thought I have some bed news (No I'm not quitting the story, wait till I finish what I have to say)

**Dear readers, due to my overlly full schedule** (preparations for university starting and everything) **I'm sorry to inform you that from now on I would be updating this story every second week.**

**With any luck I would be able to write slightly longer chapters** (Or at least as long as this one) **and have more time to think them trough.**

**So because of this new way of updating there won't be a chapter out next Friday but the one after.**

**Thank you all for understanding**

(Yes I am in a weird official mood)

Anyway till the next chapter

Ciao, ciao


	38. Death

**38. Death**

_Darkness was surrounding her... __She was alone..._

_She tried to walk around to find a glitter of light somewhere..._

_Nothing... __Nowhere..._

_She felt her foot bumping into something and looking down she screamed. Echo of her terrified cry rung in her ears. __Death body was lying under her feet. For a short moment she wasn't able to move but then t__orn between curiosity and fear she was looking at it trying to see trough the darkness who it was. Her hand was shaking as she covered her mouth to stop herself from making any noise._

_Another figure appeared standing over the death body, it was like a shadow, darker then the blackness covering her. She looked up at the figure, maybe that stranger could somehow help her, help that lifeless doll laying on the ground. __She tried to speak to him, but her voice was gone. The darkness had swallow it just like it was going to eat her. She could feel the pressure of it on her skin._

_She couldn't see the face of the stranger but she could see his eyes glittering clearly. Light green shine in strangers eyes was the only light in the unbelievable obscurity. A movement of the strangers hand made her look down, he was pointing at her with his wand, something was wrapping itself around his arm, it reminded her of a snake. Even before the stranger casted a spell she knew what was going to happen. __Her blood run cold..._

Emma gasped, her face was covered in cold sweat and she reached with her hand for her forehead wiping the sweat and taking deep breaths trying to calm down. That was the second nightmare she had that night. It was obvious she wouldn't be getting any sleep. Slowly placing herself in a sitting position in her bad she thought unhappily about the even that caused it.

Sighing she exited her covers and feeling dark thick carpet, that was covering the stony floor of the girls's dormitory, under her feet, she slowly walked out the room careful not to wake the other girls sleeping peacefully in their own beds. She shivered when her bare feet get in contact with the cold stone in the hallway, but she didn't return to the dormitory and continued silently down the stairs to the Slytherin common room.

It was well past midnight and Emma suspected that the common room would be empty, however once she reached it she froze.

The common room was empty, except for a dark haired boy lying on the sofa nearest to the fireplace reading a book. Tom hadn't looked up to see who had entered the room and Emma thought about returning to her bed before he noticed her, she didn't want to be in the same room with him right now. Then she noticed the book he was holding and angrily stormed to him wresting the book out of his hands, her fear being completely replaced with her rage.

Tom looked up at her.

"Hello to you too Emma." Tom greeted reaching out for the book.

Emma moved out of his hand.

"I was reading that." He informed her.

"This book is mine! And I don't recall you asking if you can borrow it!" She yelled at him angrily.

"I didn't. Now give it back." Tom ordered.

"No, I won't! How did you get your fingers on the book anyway?" Emma asked still staying just out of Tom's reach.

Tom rolled his eyes. "Obviously I entered the girls' dormitory."

"Boys can't enter our dormitory." Emma protested.

"Well I can." Tom informed her as he with a motion of his hand got the book to levitate out of Emma's grip and into his hand.

Opening the book back on the page he had been reading he asked, "Why are you awake at this hour?"

Emma remembered her dream and paled slightly. She acted on impulse when she saw Tom with her Biology book and instead of leaving the room while she had a chance she had drawn Tom's attention to her. She didn't feel brave enough to be alone with him after founding out he killed that seventh-year girl, but she couldn't just leave at that moment either, Tom wouldn't notice something was wrong.

"I couldn't sleep." She said a bit nervously, hoping he wouldn't ask what her dream was.

"Hmm..."

Tom hadn't looked up from the book but she knew he had noticed her tone and uneasiness. Trying to change the subject she looked at her Biology book again.

"So why are reading a Muggle book?"

"It's interesting." Tom answered shortly.

Emma looked at his face, her eyes searching for any kind of grief, regret or guilt. But there was nothing. His face was between calm and emotionless like it was for the biggest part of time.

She had been watching him all day, hoping that he will show some kind of emotion over the death of that girl he killed last night. And all day he had acted normally, being a perfect, intelligent and hard working student when in classes, a happy, chatty teen when surrounded by friends and quiet, spaced-out self when no-one was paying him any attention... and disappearing occasionally like he always did.

Emma sighed before asking quietly, almost shyly, "Don't you feel any guilt?"

Tom just raised one brow questioningly.

"Guilt... You know a human emotion that..." Emma fold her arms suddenly unable to stop herself from teasing him (He was right. She really didn't have any survival instinct, did she?), "I'm too far ahead am I not? How am I going to explain this... Emotion is..."

"I know what an emotion is." Tom cut her coldly finally looking up from the book he had been reading, "And no, I do not feel any guilt or regret or whatever other pitiful emotion exists."

Emma looked at him seriously again, "So you don't care that that girl is now dead. And you don't care that you _killed _somebody."

Tom just ignored her and returned to the book.

"You have to feel something." She pressed sitting on the free end of the sofa.

"Right now, I feel annoyance." Tom informed her.

Emma quieted down after that response, though she stayed in the room. She was watching fire playing in the fireplace and shadows dancing around the room deep in thoughts.

"I wonder what death is... how it feels..." Emma whispered.

Tom looked up at her. She wasn't looking at him but the slowly dying fire, which was reflecting in her big brown eyes. Turning his dark eyes in the same direction he sighed, "Shouldn't you be wondering what life is? You still have years in front of you before the time death should start to concern you."

"I know what life is." Emma said quietly, "It's a game with no rules. It the game you are either a player or you are being played."

_"That could be one way of explaining life." _Tom thought.

"But even if I know what life is that doesn't mean I know how to live." Emma finished.

"Does anybody?" Tom asked noiselessly.

Silence fell on them for a few moment. Before she spoke up again.

"You know I once read somewhere an interesting saying that you either die being a hero or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain. Which one do you think you would end up being?"

"Which one would go down in history?"

"Why is that important?" Emma asked finally looking at Tom.

"Because that way my name would stay known forever, therefor there would be some meaning to life."

"Both can go down in history I guess."

"Then because gods love heroes and those die young, I would rather be a villain that lives on." Tom said thoughtfully.

"Hmm... there's a difference between living and just existing. To really live is a rare thing. How can you have a life worth living the way you chose, by being a villain?"

"I want to have a long life. Whom the gods love die early, if they hate me I'll live longer. And gods dislike evildoers. Besides you'll live an unhappy life as a villain only if you have conscience, I know I don't."

"If you think gods exist does that mean you believe in destiny too?" Emma asked.

"I can't say I believe in either things, but I can't say I don't either. I've seen to many things that would prove the existence of both, but I also always believed that I'm creating my own path, that there is no force controlling me."

Emma nodded her head thinking about what he said. It was similar to her believes. She wasn't from a religious family and couldn't say she believed in anything else than pure chance and luck... but then again something had to control those things too...

"You are in a philosophical mood tonight." Tom commented looking at Emma.

"You killing that girl made me question some things." She said silently.

Tom looked at her pale tired face.

"You need some sleep you should go back to bed." Tom advised.

"I'm fine."

"Good night Emma."

Tom's voice as he wished her good night was soft but it left no room for arguing. For the first time since she had found out what time he was from, it crossed Emma's mind how older he actually was. He might look like a thirteen-years old but he had fifteen more years behind him in another time. Getting up she left the common room wishing him good night too.

Tom opened the book and continued reading. But he was only half concentrated on the book, for the other half of his mind was far, far away from that moment. His brain was already planing more then hundred moves ahead, he was already calculating what to do next, what could happen and what couldn't, what most likely would.

He had a feeling that time was running out.

* * *

Alkaios was sitting on the throne in the big stony room in the Court. He had had a meeting with lords and elders of the other castles earlier that day and was now at that late hour holding a meeting for Protectors (Non of the kids except the ones of Protectors knew for their existence. Even after five months of living in Court kids still followed all the rules set for them, and were therefor unaware of other people living in the same castle).

The news that elders had gave him earlier that day were bad, and he was concern that the war seemed to be heating up fester the it should.

The elders had informed him earlier that four men sent to search for the other hidden locations still hadn't returned and another two had been found dead. Not to mention that one of the man (which was the only one returning in time so far) had brought more bad news.

It seemed that many of the former small and free castles are now under someones control. He was unable to brake in and find who was their master, but he was sure that all the castles he was capable of finding were under same lord, or maybe two different ones. That only meant that the number of sacrifices needed to win the coming war would be growing day by day.

"What are we going to do Alkaios?" One of the elder Protectors asked, "This war is going to be about more the just the prophecy. It hardly started and it's already taking the turn for a big disaster. War for power, control and territory."

Alkaios stood up from the throne and started walking around the room. He was just as worried as everyone else was.

"I'm well aware of that. And that's not what bothers me. The biggest problem is that I'm not sure we are the strongest ones as we were before. Someone had already conquer many powerful dynasties. It's obvious to me that this war is going to be between three or more powerful dynasties and their subordinates. It won't be just little independent castles and islands attacking us. We are going to fight Salazar with all of his forces and that one who had taken under his control all of those castles. It is possible that there are even more powerful enemies... One or two more... Not likely, but still possible."

He quieted down thinking.

Another Protector spoke up, "Can we afford to send a few small groups around the old world to try and get more alliances?"

"Hardly." Another one said, "Each group would need members good in diplomacy, spying, healing and fighting. Four to five members for each group."

"No, not just good. Extraordinary." Alkaios said, "The task in front of them could be extremely dangerous and might even cost them their lives. They could come across adversary any time... But we don't have much choice do we... Find anybody willing to take on such a task no matter of their age and skill level in any of the mentioned requirements and send then to me during tomorrow. I will choose five teams and send them out in next two weeks."

Alkaios looked around the faces that surrounded him. He was sorry for having to take such drastic measures. Life is the most valuable thing one had and he was going to take that away from half of those sent out if not more. He wished he could go instead, but a hardest lecture that every leader had to learn was that every day they would have to send a few of their own men to their early grave as a peace offering to save the rest of their subordinates. Exchange death for life.

"This meeting is over." He announced.

The room emptied and he was left alone. He wondered what Tom was doing right now. The boy should be in bed, but knowing him like Alkaios thought he did, Tom was probably wandering around making small confident moves that would lead him to his goal.

Alkaios regularly wondered what the boys dream were, what he wished for, what he wanted to grow up to be, but guessing what was going behind that silent calculated stare was proving to be rather difficult and for the millionth time Alkaios wished that he could accelerate time, just to see if in the end all those years he had spent and was planing to spend on Tom's development were wort it.

He had came to love the boy like his son and wished for him to take the position of a leader once he was no longer alive. But it seemed that the boy had huge thirst for power that it actually scared Alkaios sometimes. It scared him that the boy wouldn't be able to stop in his search for it, while it seemed that being around siblings and his Slytherin friend had lessened that thirst a bit, it didn't completely disappear, it was still there waiting to be awoken again.

Watching him talk with siblings sometimes Alkaios had noticed that his dark empty eyes would gain light and he would smile for real. But the second he thought he was alone again he would return to his cold and selfish self. And that was the problem. People living alone get used to loneliness. And Tom was alone for far too long. He still hadn't learned to trust others and he still thought that asking for help was a weakness. He still thought that relaying on others is stupid.

Alkaios sighed. This wasn't the time to worry about Tom, he was intelligent and capable young man who would with help of people close to him stay on the right track, or at least that's what Alkaios hoped for.

He always believed that everyone made their own life, that there was no such thing as destiny. No-one was born happy or successful or sad. But sometimes after meeting Tom he thought that maybe there really were people born with tragedy in their blood because Tom could for the bigger part be listed as one of those.

The boy successfully run from one war just to find himself in another.

Still he wished only the best for him, and somehow he believed that even with that cursed luck of his in the end Tom would have everything he shoot for.

If only the boy learned to listed to his heart as well as his brain.

* * *

The fire in the common room extinguished and Tom looked up from his book unhappily. He felt to lazy to light it up again, even if the only thing he would have to do was perform a simple spell from the sofa he was still lying on.

Sighing he returned his attention to the book. He had almost finished reading anyway.

"Tom."

Salazar's voice called him and dropping the book from the sudden noise Tom looked around the room trying to find where the man was. It took him a few seconds before he noticed man's figure clearly reflecting on the surface of the big window, dark lake behind him. The memory of him connecting Stefan trough mirrors and glass surfaces came to his mind.

_"So Salazar isn't at Hogwarts... __That is good. He can't kill me right away."_ Tom thought. He knew Salazar was going to be furious when he finds out that Tom forgot to look for the location the Hufflepuff girl was from. Being far away Salazar might calm himself enough before he had a chance to kill him.

"I killed her." Tom informed his ancestor.

"What did you find out about her?"

_"Maybe I could pretend she was really good at occlumency or_ _had her memories removed for safety reasons." _Tom was quickly trying to think of the way to hid his mistake.

"She was capable of using magic without wand for sure. She wasn't mud-blood like she pretended to be, but the name she used was really hers. She is the only child and I was capable of getting some random memories from her childhood. However I couldn't find any important information. She was either really good at occlumency, which is not likely, or she had memories with important information removed from her mind." Tom said.

"Hmm..." Salazar didn't seem to be happy with Tom's answer but he didn't seem to question it either. Tom nearly sighed in relief, but he stopped himself just in time.

"What did the places form her memories looked like? Anything that stood out?"

Tom thought hardly back to the memories he got from the girl.

"No. Nothing. She was always in woods or at home, but neither of the locations are familiar to me... Oak woods... that doesn't help much does it?"

"Which language is she speaking in her memories?"

Tom looked up at Salazar. He never thought about the language the girl used. All the talking in the memories was just an unimportant sound to him.

"German I think... Are there many powerful families in Germany?"

"There were a few powerful dynasties that are possible to trace back to the Rome empire, that disappeared at one point. Two appearing during the war with Grindelwald on his side of course."

"But he was from Bulgaria." Tom said.

"His mother was from a German well respected family. His father was from Britain." Salazar informed him.

"Really? I though they were both from central or maybe east Europe."

Salazar just shook his head, he had a feeling Tom was trying to change the subject.

"What else can you remember?" He questioned.

"I don't know... Nothing I remember seeing in her memories seems important..."

"I expect you to inform me if you remember anything else." Salazar told Tom icily before he disappeared.

"Maybe Emma shouldn't be worrying with what death is yet, but I sure ah hell should." Tom whispered to himself, "That old man is going to make me a lifeless doll without thinking twice about it."

Sighing heavily Tom walked towards his dormitory deep in thoughts, _"I wonder what being normal feels like... It must be easier that being beyond the ordinary. I am in this mess because I'm special, if I wasn't I would be just another student in this school... But then again I never wanted to be just another regular person. That would be so... so stupid and boring and... I like that I am superior to all of them, I like that I am the special one... Being a genius really is a double-edged sword."_

Lying in his bed the last thoughts that went trough Tom's mind was a question _how would it feel like to be dead free from all the suffering life_ _had_. His subconsciousness answered him with a terrible dream of all those days of war he lived trough. The dream reminded him how painful death can be and just why he was trying to hard to run away from it.

While drifting into the restless dream Tom hadn't noticed that on the bed closest to his Fabius was lying wade awake staring at the dark ceiling, his own dark thoughts not letting him fall asleep. He had been turning the same thought around his mind for hours, trying to see it from every possible angle but he only ended up going in circles. He was so deep in his own thought that he didn't even noticed when Tom had entered the dormitory.

Turning around in his bed again Fabius looked at the clock on his night stand and then out of the window. it was well past 2 o'clock, he won't be getting any sleep that night.

He looked at the dark shadow that was Din's bed and the his eyes found Tom's bed as well, one question popped in his mind for a hundred time that night. Should he tell Tom his suspicions?

* * *

**Author's note:** Yeah, yeah this chapter has only 4000 words and I promised a longer one. But I have a good reason I swear.

I decided that this story needs a prologue and have been working on one. I hope I would be able to update the story with it during next week (which is out of my new update schedule). I would probably put chapter one and two together as one chapter and add prologue as first chapter.

So please forgive me for not as long chapter. Please...

**You might be interested in: **Characters I made in Sims 3 (since I gave up trying to draw them)

I made Emma, Laurentia, Idris and Artemisa so far. You can see them on DeviantArt (link on my profile)

That's all for now till the next chapter

Ciao, ciao


	39. Din Stump

**39. Din Stump**

Late Saturday morning found most Hogwarts students in Great Hall eating breakfast, and some others that had woken up early that morning on the school grounds enjoying the warm autumn sun. Tom had finished his breakfast few minutes ago and was now waiting, with a book in his hands, for any of his Slytherin friends to show up.

As expected Idris was the first one to arrive.

"Good morning Tom." She greeted.

"Good morning. Can you please inform others that we will be meeting at the usual hour."

"Same place, same people?" Idris questioned.

"Yes."

"I will. Oh, Fabius said he wants to talk to you about something. He went to the library."

"He isn't coming here for breakfast?"

"No. He said he wasn't hungry."

Tom nodded and left the table.

Quickly walking trough the hallways he thought about what could possibly Fabius want to talk about with him. Entering the library he quickly found the boy in the Transfiguration section.

"Hi. You wanted to talk about something."

Fabius turned towards him and nodded his greeting, then his gaze went back to the books. Taking two books from the shelf, he started walking towards the exit.

"Yes, I did. Lets go talk elsewhere. Grounds would probably do."

The two exited the castle in silence. Tom was looking around waiting for the other to start speaking first, and Fabius was deep in thoughts wandering how to say what he wanted to.

He looked at Tom who's eyes were gliding from one place to another, from one face to other. His face was calm as he looked around the grounds, till his eyes finally stopped moving and his eyes narrowed. Fabius following his gaze looking at the direction of the small figure in Slytherin robe that was quickly walking across the grounds towards a group of Gryffindors.

"Duh."

"What?" Fabius question turning to look at Tom again, but he had already moved in the same direction as the Slytherin girl. Fabius sighed tiredly before followed him.

* * *

She had woke up late! How was she going to find Edwen now! And why hadn't any of her friends woken her up! There's no way she could find that Ravenclaw boy now. After all she had already looked everywhere! He wasn't in Great hall, he wasn't in library and he wasn't on school grounds either.

The castle was huge, she couldn't just walk around checking every room!

Sighing she collapsed on a closest bench in the Transfiguration courtyard. Why wasn't he in the library when she needed him and wasn't getting out of it (according to Idris) when it was an average day. She even asked a few other Ravenclaws (earning a confused look) if they knew where Edwen was.

Sighing again she got up and started randomly walking thought the hallways wondering where she should look for him next. She was missing a beautiful sunny day outside because of him.

* * *

"Artemisa can I talk to you."

An acquainted voice interrupted Artemisa as she was telling a joke to her Gryffindor friends. Turning their heads in direction of the voice Gryffindors saw a Slytherin girl standing there. The one that was gossiped around to be the only Muggle-born ever that ended up in Slytherin.

Artemisa's icy blue eyes glitter on the autumn sun as she met Emma's worried brown gaze. But they were on Emma for only a second before they slid towards two figures that had just joined the group.

"Hello Tom, Fabius." She greeted.

Emma tensed, and Artemisa noticed that Tom's dark orbs were firmly fixed on her figure. Something was going on... Artemisa's icy eyes narrowed just for a second before she cleared her face from all emotions only a fake happy smile plying on her lips.

"To what do we own so much Slytherin attention?"

"Oh, we were just looking for Emma." Tom answered lightly, also smiling, "Anyway we will be leaving now."

He looked at Artemisa and smiling more sincerely said, "And Misa, your little prank worked, but on the wrong targets. Two Gryffindors got themselves a nice detention."

"Hmm... Is that so? Well, my next one will work on the right ones for sure." She smiled sneakily, then looking at Fabius asked in a hushed tone, "Are we dulling tonight?"

Fabius smiled confidently, "Are you so eager to lose?"

"We'll see who is gonna lose. No wands, only swords and wandless magic."

"You may count one of the two out, I can't look after you." Tom informed them, then looked back at Emma, "Can I talk with you? It's really important."

She looked down in silence.

Seeing the way Emma reacted to Tom's polite request Artemisa decided that the girl had probably crossed Tom at some point and he was angry at her. And judging by Emma's personality, she probably wouldn't dare argue with him and stand up for herself. She decided to help the girl.

"Oh, but Emma and I planed to spend some time together..." Noticing that Tom wasn't going to have that she quickly added, "With my Gryffindor friends. She is probably bored being surrounded by Slytherins all the time. She is a Muggle-born and need to spend more time with people like her."

"And you are a Muggle-born?" Tom shot back.

"No. But some of my friend are." Taking Emma's hand she started dragging the girl towards the Gryffindor group that was still standing there trying to figure out what was going on.

Tom was looking daggers at her, but she didn't care one bit. Giving him a small wave she turned to her friends and continued the joke she had been telling them, still not letting Emma's hand just in case Tom tries something funny.

Tom gave Emma a warning glance before turning around and walking back to the castle. Calming enough he turned towards Fabius and asked, "So what did you want to talk about?"

"Oh, right. Amm... I don't really think this is the best moment, you seem to be preoccupied. I'll... go and finish my homework then. See ya." Fabius said.

Tom looked after him as he left wondering what was going on. Fabius obviously had something important he wanted to talk about.

* * *

Where was he?

He couldn't have just disappeared from the face of earth.

It should be dinner time soon and maybe she could wait in front of the Great hall for him. He would have to show up eventually. But that way some gossip girl like Daisy could see her and what she wanted with Edwen wasn't anybody else's business.

Still... She searched the whole castle and couldn't find him, that really was her only option. Entering the Entrance hall she went to the shadowed corner of the staircase and sat there waiting. Different thoughts invaded her mind and she hadn't even noticed the time passing. It seemed like just seconds later she heard the voice of the boy she had been searching for all morning.

Quickly getting up she almost run in his direction and cut his way towards Great hall.

"Edwen I've been looking for you all morning." She quickly said, then noticing the confused face of the girl next to Edwen she put a smile on her face, "Hi Erica. How are you? Would you mind if Edwen joins you later in the Great hall? I really need to talk to him in private for a minute."

She said all of that in one breath but kept her voice perfectly polite and friendly.

"Am... no... not at all. I'll see you later then Edwen." Erica said, still a little confused. She never saw Edwen talk to Slytherins, except Tom, but he was Edwen's brother so it was different. He wasn't unfriendly either, but he most definitively wasn't friends with either of them.

Once Erica left Edwen looked at the girl in front of him. He wondered why she wanted to talk to him, if Tom wanted to tell him something he would have told him on his own. But what other reason would she have to want to talk to him, she was Tom's friend, not his.

"When I said private, I really meant it. No-one must know about this, especially not Tom." Thew girl whispered, her worried blue eyes looking around, wanting to make sure that nobody was paying them any attention.

Edwen nodded his understanding and quietly followed the girl trough less used hallways.

* * *

Fabius looked around the Room of Requirement.

Din and Daisy once again weren't invited to join the rest of them.

"You have no time to look around." Artemisa informed him as she casted another spell in his direction.

"I think Tom said only swords no magic."

"And he also said he is not putting our pieces back together. So as long as we use simple spells he won't care." Artemisa informed him.

_"Tom probably doesn't care anyway."_ Fabius thought to himself.

"Edwen aren't you going to practice something." Tom asked as he stood over the boy who was reading in the sofa in the corner of the room.

He looked up at the dark-haired boy and then turned the book so Tom could see what he was reading.

"Those are some advanced spells for protection, and I need to study them in theory before I try to perform them."

Tom just nodded and went to see how everybody else was doing.

The group was trying to levitate the little stone on their palm for two weeks now, and while they occasionally succeeded at making the stone raise from their hand for a few seconds, they still couldn't hold it in the air. But their little accomplishment did prove that they were all capable of using magic wandless.

Tom was trying to help Idris when a spell shoot over his head, the wall he had been leaning against exploded.

The whole room quieted down and Edwen peeped over the edges of his book. Tom turned towards Artemisa and Fabius who stopped dulling on the other end of the room.

Both with a motion of their hands accused the other of performing the spell that almost hit him. Febius noting that Artemisa was accusing him whispered to her, "Aren't Gryffindors supposed to be brave?"

She giggled and whispered back, "I am brave, not stupid. Those are two different things."

"Edwen how about trying that protecting spell now? Why don't you try to create a barrier between Misa and Fabius and the rest of us, so the two could continue dulling without killing anybody." Tom suggested.

"I can try." Edwen agreed.

"Great."

The rest of the evening went by fast and soon everyone was happily leaving the room. All of the beginners had successfully levitated the stone for around one minute.

"Tom could you stay, I need to talk to you." Edwen informed his adopted brother.

"Sure."

Artemisa who was at the door at that moment walked back in closing the door.

"If it is something important I am staying too." She informed the two.

Edwen looked at her for a few seconds then nodded his agreement, though it was obvious that he didn't want his little sister to be there.

"So?" Tom questioned.

"Is there something you would like to tell us?" Edwen asked.

Tom's dark eyes flashed with light green, but he answered calmly, "No."

"Like I thought." Edwen mumbled to himself sighing.

Artemisa looked at the dark-haired boy worriedly. She remembered that Emma had wanted to talk to her earlier that day, but since she couldn't ask anything in front of her Gryffindor friends, she had forgotten about it.

"We've already been over this once and I don't see why I have to repeat it every time. You can tell us anything." Artemisa told Tom.

"I know that."

"Really?" Edwen questioned, "Cause the only other option besides you not knowing you can rely on us is that you don't want us to know."

"I don't want you to know what?" Tom asked.

"Everything." Edwen answered, "But if you want a specific example how would the one that you are in huge trouble this exact moment work?"

"Why would I be in any trouble?" Tom questioned smiling.

"You tell me Tom. I certainly don't know how you manage to get you're self in such messes all the time."

"I am not in any trouble Edwen."

"For real?... Tell me, does name Salazar Slytherin means anything to you?"

Smile disappeared from Tom's face.

"He was one of the founders of Hogwarts." He answered trying to keep his calm. He had a feeling he knew where the conversation was going and he didn't like it. He also wondered how had Edwen found out about Salazar. No-one knew about him, except from Alkaios and Stefan and neither would have told Edwen anything.

It was possible that someone had seen him last night... but who?

It had to be one of his Slytherin friends or otherwise the information wouldn't have reached Edwen. It weren't neither Daisy or Din, the two wouldn't have informed Edwen. It probably wasn't Fabius either he would have confronted him about it on his own... though he did try earlier that day to talk to him about something... But he would be in the room now too, so it wasn't him

Among the others left as possibility one name was standing out. Emma.

* * *

Tom was in a really bad mood when he exited the Room of Requirement after his conversation with siblings. If he wasn't so angry because of them finding out, he might have been even touched by how much the two cared about him.

But no, right now, he was just angry and on his way to strangle a certain girl. It was well past midnight and she should be in her bed asleep but he didn't care.

Storming into the girls dormitory he woke up all of them when the door shut with a loud noise behind him.

All the girls noticed him standing there looking at Emma. They were surprised to find that he had entered their room.

"How did you get in here?"

"What are you doing in our dorm?"

"How can a boy enter our room?"

The girls started asking in the same time. Tom didn't have patience to deal with them right now. Putting on an obviously fake smile he greeted them.

"Hello to you too. I'm sorry I woke you all up. I just need to talk with Emma right away. Do you have a minute Emma?"

"Mmm... Sure." She said uncertainly exiting her covers.

She followed Tom out and the second she closed the door behind her Tom grabbed her hand roughly.

"Which part of _keep your mouth shut _you didn't understand?" He hissed at her.

"What are you talking about?" Emma whispered back trying to keep her voice under control. She was scared.

Tom was always so calm and collected rarely losing control over his emotions. But it was obvious to her that at that moment all traces of calm and collected were erased from him and she was scared of what he could do if he acted impulsively.

"About you telling siblings everything you possibly could."

"I haven't told them anything. I wanted to, but I haven't."

"Don't lie to me Emma. Who else could have possibly known about Salazar, you were the only one awake at that hour."

"About who?" She asked confused.

Tom let go of her hand and leaned against the wall crossing his arms. She really had no idea about who he was talking about. He could tell. She was a bad liar. But that meant that somebody else saw him last night.

"No-one. What were you doing last night after I told you to go get some sleep?"

"I... went to bed." Emma said puzzled by Tom's sudden change of attitude.

"And you fell asleep right away?" Tom questioned.

"No. I was reading Geography for another... hour or maybe two... Is everything alright?"

"Everything is fine."

"That's always your answer Tom. I can tell something is wrong."

"It's nothing."

How was he going to find out who told Edwen about Salazar now? Edwen most definitively won't tell him... But there might be someone who had the answer... Tom's eyes fell from Emma's face and he noticed the red mark that was slowly forming on Emma's wrist. He suddenly felt bad for grabbing her hand so roughly.

"Let me fix that." He whispered.

"Hm...? Oh... this." Emma raised her hand, "It's nothing, don't worry about it."

Tom ignored her and lightly took her hand while taking his wand out. He performed a simple spell and let go of her hand. The rad marks had disappeared.

"Thanks." Emma muttered.

She knew that that was Tom's way of saying he was sorry for the way he treated her, since he would never apologize out loud or admit he was sorry for that matter. Unless it's a fake apology of course.

"Good night Tom." She said as she opened the door of girls dormitory.

"Good night." He whispered so quietly that she barely heard him.

* * *

Fabius had woken up when he heard a loud noise that sounded like someone slammed the door with as much force as possible. And now he was looking around trying to see if the noise had woke others up too.

Devlin was sill fast asleep in his bed, but both Tom's and Din's beds were empty. It was possible that Tom still hadn't returned to the dormitory even thought it was sometime after midnight, but Fabius was sure that Din had been in his bed sleeping when he and Devlin entered the dorm late that night.

Delvin mumbled something and Fabius turned to look at him again.

"Sorry what?" He questioned.

He only got another mumble in response. Devlin was talking in his sleep?

Fabius started chuckling and almost missed what Devlin said next, but after he heard the words he started laughing putting a pillow over his face to hush the sound. The door cracked open and Fabius quickly lied down. The figure that entered went to Tom's bed and sat there.

Fabius got up again and looked at the dark figure of his friend.

"Din isn't here." He informed Tom.

"I know. He had been going out on random nights for the last year at least."

"That long? I only noticed it one week ago." Fabius said surprised.

They both looked at the empty bed.

"Is that why you didn't include him into the group?"

"Hmm."

"So it's not the only reason. ... Why haven't you include Daisy?"

"They are friends." Tom answered simply.

"We all are."

"Not like that. They are closer. I don't know, I didn't have any friends... nor did I care to have them before meeting Misa, Edwen, you and the others, therefor I can explain it, but I can see it, I know that it's there all the time. The bond between the two is stronger than the one you and Devlin have. It's deeper and more sincere."

"It's weird to here you speak like that."

"Even if I didn't have any friends before all of you, I saw what others had. I was always capable of reading people, including their feeling and relationships with others. It's irrelevant what I think of them as long as I can use them against others."

Fabius nodded absently.

"Were Din's night excursions what you wanted to talk to me about?" Tom asked.

"Yes."

The silence settled between them for a few moments before another one of Devlin's mumbled sentences broke trough the darkness.

Fabius started chuckling again and Tom's white teeth flashed on the moonlight as he smiled.

"So he even dreams her." Tom whispered.

"And you don't?" Fabius teased.

Tom smiled, "I like her as friend, but only that."

"And who do you dream then? You have to choose one of the third-years."

"Mmm... I think that of them I like Laurentia the most."

Fabius started chuckling again, "So you like dark-haired girls."

"I spend too much time around certain annoying blond girl to like those." Tom joked.

"I am telling Artemisa that." Fabius informed him.

"Like I care. She would probably describe me as irritating knew-it-all." Tom said.

"Like you aren't."

"You wish you were me."

"Oh, pleas I am way crazier... um... I mean better." Fabius said trying to keep on a straight face.

"Yeah right, your madness is nowhere near my level. Keep dreaming."

Both boys started chuckling.

"Good night." Tom said.

"Good... (chuckle)... night."

* * *

Tom waited till Fabius fell asleep and then quietly exited the dorm. Once he was in the common room he stood in front of a big glass window that reflected everything in the room perfectly like a mirror and concentrated.

"Umbras de tenebra ostendo mea ubi Din Stump stare nunc." He whispered into the empty room.

Dark shapes appeared on the glass forming different pictures until finally settling on one room. Tom was excited, he had finally done the spell correctly. Casting a brief glance on the room he dispelled the image and left the room.

Walking around hallways he quickly reached the one that Din was in. He slid in it like a shadow and waited for his eyes to adjust to the dim light.

"Din." Tom called the boy.

He turned around surprised to see Tom standing next to the door.

"What are you doing here?" He questioned as he walked closer to where Din was standing.

"Practicing." Din answered.

"What are you practicing?"

Silence.

"I... I'm practicing..."

"I thought so." Tom cut him.

Their gazes clashed.

"You were the one that put ingredients into that girls potion. You tried to stop me from getting all of her memories."

Din looked trough the window, "Why did you tell Emma that you killed that girl?"

"Because I did. When I find out that the gas from the potion had affected her memories, I didn't need her alive anymore."

"I meant the potion part. You told Emma you did that even though you knew it was me."

"She is fun to mess with." Tom said lightly.

"Hmm."

"But I didn't come here for a chat Din. I came to find out where that girl was from since you messed up with her memories before I had time to see all of them."

Din looked at the dark-haired boy in front of him.

"What are you up to?" He asked.

"I am the one asking questions here." Tom said.

"I can't tell you where the girl was from Tom. I don't know."

"You are lying."

"I am not. I had the orders to prevent anybody from seeing her memories and I did. I have never even met her before in my life."

"Where are you from?"

"London."

"Really now?"

"I didn't even know my family was apart of some weird secret kingdom, or whatever, until I started Hogwarts. I don't know anything."

Tom leaned against the closest desk his eyes still on Din.

"You can't kill me Tom."

Tom smirked, "Do you actually think you are more powerful then I?"

"That's not it. You can't kill me because of the girl. She died just two nights before. If you kill me now someone would suspect that something is going on. I know you are aware of that."

The smirk disappeared from Tom's face and his eyes narrowed. He moved so fast that Din didn't even see him. It was obvious that he used some kind of spell to move in such way. He was in front of Din in a flash.

"Be careful Din, you are no match for me. I might not be able to kill you now, but the third year has just started and by the time it ends I would have plenty of chances to do so, don't you think?"

Din looked up at him with confident eyes.

"Now tell me Tom, which one of you _friends _should I use as a shield. Which one should I kill if you try to kill me."

Tom laughed. And stepped away from Din. He walked to the door and before exiting turned to face Din again.

"You won't kill either of them. You can't kill either of them. You couldn't even kill that girl, that's why you used potion to make her forget. And you know why you can't kill, because you have a soft heart. I on the other hand don't. Daisy could easily end up hurt." Tom said seriously and then added in a light tone, "You gain some points for a bluff. So don't worry I won't touch her... for a few months anyway."

The door closed behind him and Din was left alone in the room, breathing heavily. He knew he couldn't match Tom in anything from the day he had met him. Tom was just one of those extraordinary people that are meant for great things.

A cold shiver run down Din's spine as he thought about the dark mysterious boy he had saw on the station when he started Hogwarts. He wished he could speak with Daisy. He really needed a friend right now. Dragging his feet over the stony floor he walked towards the dorm, where he knew, from now on, his worst enemy would be sleeping instead of his friend.

Tom hadn't returned to the dorm after he had talked to Din. He couldn't. He wandered around the castle for an hour at least, before settling at a windowsill in a hallway on the last floor.

He looked out at the big silver moon, it's rays made Tom's eyes look like sparkling emeralds.

A picture of a smiling face of a boy that was sorted with Tom in Slytherin crossed like a flash his mind. What was he going to do now?

With a loud sigh Tom closed his eyes and leaned his tired head on the stony wall. The sun would raise in just three short hours. He need sleep...

* * *

**Author's note:**

I'm back!

I am sorry for not updating on 13th January. I went skiing that week (and I didn't know I was going until Sunday night -.-)

Anyway I hope you liked the chapter and that you'll comment too. =)

I've been over worked lately so please don't be angry, 4 800 words isn't that little you know. ^.^'

Anyway (I need to stop using anyway and) I have so much things to study right now that I can't promise as long chapters from now on till the summer holidays.

=.= I need rest!

... Yeah, you really don't care. I know that =(

Till the next chapter,

Ciao, ciao


	40. Arcturus Lestrange

**40. Arcturus Lestrange**

Something cold and sly brushed against Tom's face, he wonted to shoo it away but he felt to tired to move.

"_Wake up s~leepy__head._" Girlish voice hissed in his ear. "_Come on, you have to get up._"

Tom mumbled something sleepily, but he didn't open his eyes.

He felt something thin twinkle sharply against his jaw and he moved his head slightly to the side. More conscious and awake Tom noticed that he felt cold and uncomfortable, next he noticed that the hard thing he had been sleeping on was stone.

Barely opening his eyes and looking trough the window, he concluded that it was break of dawn. Once again the cold thing brushed against his cheek.

Rubbing his tired eyes he finally turned to look at it.

"_Agrona_."

Two big yellow eyes were looking at him, little gray-green head tilted to one side slightly.

"_What are you doing here?_" Tom hissed confusedly.

"_Watching after you._" Little snake answered, "_Why were you out of your dormitory Tom if you were tired enough to fell asleep here?_"

Tom just waved his hand dismissively. Little snake wrapped around his bare neck.

"_What if Dumbledore's portrait had found you like this?_"

"_I haven't seen that ugly face since the last day of second year... That's a bit strange though. I was sure he would follow me everywhere, like he did last few weeks last year._"

Tom was deep in thoughts for a few moments before he remembered something else.

"_Why did you leave the Chamber? I told you not to unless I'm with you since it's dangerous. You could hurt somebody and I would get expelled._"

"_Which one are you worried more about? You getting expelled or me killing somebody?_"

"_Agrona I am serious._"

"_You are worrying over nothing kid._"

"_I am older then you are, you know that right?_"

"_I am growing up faster and I don't need anybody to look after me unlike you._" The snake answered.

Tom sighed. He couldn't believe he was arguing with his pet.

"_Whatever._" He hissed nonchalantly.

The snake unwrapped itself from Tom's neck and slid opposite of him on the stone lighted with warm sunbeam. Tom leaned his jaw on the knee of his bent leg looking at her.

"W_hat are your plans for today?_" The snake asked.

"Hmm... _I am going to sneak out and go to __Azkaban, the wizard prison. It's Sunday, I should be able to sneak in and out without any_ _problems._"

"_Why would you want to go to some prison on such a beautiful day? I don't know much about humans since I am still young but I am sure they don't spend their days like that._"

Tom just shrugged. He was sure that if Agrona could sigh, she would, even though she was a snake and there for not capable of showing her thought trough face expressions she was most definitively looking at him like he was a lost case.

"_You could try to be normal from time to time it wouldn't hurt you._" She informed him.

"_You would be lonely then._" Tom answered smiling.

He heard the school clock rang. It was six o'clock.

"_I'll be leaving then._"

Agrona just nodded her little head, not moving from her sunny spot. Tom thought about telling her to move before somebody sees her, but he knew it would be useless, so he just turned and disappeared down the corridor.

* * *

It was around nine o'clock when the girls woke up.

"Good morning." Daisy said trying to surpass a yawn.

Idris looked at her nightstand clock. She couldn't believe how late it was. She had tons of homework to do! Jumping out of her bed he quickly got dressed and turned to see if other girls were ready to go, only to find them still in their beds rubbing their eyes and stretching.

"I'm leaving." She informed them, not wanting to waste any time, and quickly left the room.

"Guess it's the three of us then." Emma whispered more to herself then to the other two girls.

"Actually it's just you and Laurentia," Daisy said apologetically, "I am meeting Din in a few minutes so I should probably hurry too."

Laurentia nodded absently while Emma had a sad expression on her face. The second Daisy left she started complaining.

"We aren't spending time together at all nowadays."

"Let it be, it's probably better this way. We have to many things we are hiding from her to be able to be good friends now anyway." Laurentia said.

"But..."

"Look Emma, I am sure you see all the other age groups of Slytherin hanging together and everything but after being for two whole years in this house you should know that it's just a faced that shows us as united and unmatched."

"Still... and they all are on friendly terms with Tom."

"Who wouldn't be on friendly terms with him after he defeated that guy on our first night here. I am sure you remember it all to well... They respect him for sure, but they are also using the chance they have now to be on grate terms with him for the future deals. He is obviously someone who can became a Minister of Magic in a few year."

Emma looked like she was trying very hard to find evidence to prove Laurentia wrong, even thought she new the black haired girl was right.

Her friend sighed, "I'll never understand how you got in this house with that soft and naive heart of yours."

They were quiet for a while as they walked silently trough the corridors.

"What did Tom want last night?" Laurentia asked suddenly.

"Mmm...Oh... Nothing..."

"He seemed to be too furious to want nothing."

Emma didn't say anything. She rubbed the hand Tom had grabbed last night unconsciously as the memory of the event invaded her mind. Laurentia noticed this and looked to her friends spaced out face.

"Are you alright?" She questioned.

"I am fine." Emma answered silently looking at the floor and letting her curls hid her expression. The sea-blue orbs narrowed worriedly staying on her for a little longer before looking away.

_"I wonder why Tom stormed in out room so angrily last night. He wanted to speak with Emma..."_ Laurentia thought, _"__I hope I didn't put her in any trouble... No, I am just being stupid. What are the chances of them talking about that man in the glass..."_

She was pulled away from her thoughts by Emma's quiet question, "What do you think of him?"

"Sorry, what?" She asked confused.

Emma stopped walking and faced her friend, "What do you thing of Tom?"

"Wha...? Why are you asking something like that all of a' sudden?"

"I just... I needed to know, that's all." Emma's eyes fell on the ground once more.

"Does this have to do anything with fake friendships in Slytherin?" Laurentia asked.

"No." The girl answered shortly.

"Then what is it?"

"I... I..." Emma muttered something Laurentia didn't understand. Looking worried she decided that it was probably better to just ignore Emma's strange question for now and hope it would pass.

"Drop it Emma." She whispered and continued to the Great Hall, the curly girl following her reluctantly.

* * *

It was nearing dinner time and Laurentia was suck in library with Emma and Idris trying to finish her Transfiguration homework.

She could. She could practically feel Emma's sad and spaced out aura. Finally giving up she shut the book and looked at the two girls opposite of her.

Idris was doing her Astronomy homework and Emma was... looking at the blank paper in front of her, her big bambi-eyes full of questions, anxiety and sorrow.

Laurentia sighed. Leaning her cheek on her palm she stared at the girl.

"What's up with you?" She finally asked.

Idris looked up from her homework and also looked at Emma. She had noticed that the girl wasn't acting as her normal self but concluded that if she wanted to tell them what was wrong she would have already done it.

Since the girl didn't say anything Laurentia continued, "Something is obviously on your mind, you can tell us."

Silence.

"Okay, forget what I told you about friendship of convenience in Slytherin. You can talk to us."

"You told her what?" Idris asked turning toward Laurentia in disbelief.

"It is the truth, besides she can see so herself, she is not a baby. Stop treating her as one."

Idris just shook her head in disapproval.

In her opinion Emma was to innocent and kind and would be better of living in a fantasy world in her head then being pushed into harsh reality of the house she was placed in. It's not that she was babying her as Laurentia brutally put it, Emma was almost thirteen for God's sake! No-one was babying her, it was just that all the bed things in the society seemed to bother her more than they did anyone else. They seem to create a huge burden for her as if she was responsible for them.

Idirs wasn't a psychologist or anything, but she thought that all the differences between Emma and most of the Slytherins came from her insecurity. She was afraid of standing alone and therefor was good to everyone to the level of almost emotional masochism. That too kind part of her should disappear once she develops enough as a person and starts to worship herself more.

Turning away from Laurentia and looking at the girl beside her she whispered, "Ignore her, she is a smug spoiled brat and talks nonsense all the time. But if something does worry you, we are here to hear you out."

Librarian gave girls a warning glance while passing them, but Laurentia only smiled and waved saying happily, "My father informed me that he had to save your dear nephew's head again. He seemed to be causing trouble all the time."

Idris face-palmed herself, causing Emma to finally pay them some attention (making it obvious that she hadn't registered a single thing they had said before).

"I can't believe you just did that." Idris hissed to Laurentia.

"Why not? This way she won't bother us any more. Anyway since you are paying attention to us now Emma, would you like to talk about what ever it is that has you so worked up?"

"No, not really." She answered taking out her Muggle pen and starting her homework.

"Why?" Laurentis pouted.

"You would be better off not knowing." Emma said.

Intertwining her fingers and placing her jaw on them Idris looked at her, "And you would feel better if you shared your problem with us. It's better if the three of us share the burden don't you think?"

"A friend in need is a friend indeed." Laurentia quoted, "Right now you are in need and we are trying to be your friends, so how about you let us? Cause my dear, you are acting like Tom now in case you hadn't noticed."

Emma blinked. She was acting like Tom? Well, Laurentia was kind of right. Tom was normally the one that didn't want to let anybody help him.

"I am actually worried about him." She finally admitted.

"Do tell." Laurentia mumbled to herself, causing Idris and Emma to look at her.

"Why do I have a sudden feeling that you are also hiding something." Idris asked.

Laurentia sighed, "You wouldn't believe me even if I told you. Besides, Emma you were saying...?"

"That I would really like to here what is it that we wouldn't believe you." She answered nonchalantly.

Silence dragged between the three girls for a few minutes before Laurentia gave up and started talking, "Well you see, two nights ago I woke up in the middle of the night and since I couldn't fall asleep I decided to go to the common room and maybe read something and ..."

"Jump to the main part please." Idris interrupted her.

Laurentia gave her an irritated glare before continuing, "I got the the door leading to the common room and heard someone talking inside, since the door was slightly cracked I decided to take a peek and saw Tom talking to someone I couldn't see from where I was standing. Since it seemed to be safe I cracked the door a bit more and saw that he was talking to the glass, but the strange thing is that there was a man standing there, or more likely being reflected there somehow. He looked like Slytherin..."

"You mean like Salazar Slytherin? The founder of the Hogwarts?" Idris interrupted again with her question.

"Yes."

"Don't make me laugh. That's not possible." Idris said smiling.

"What were they talking about?" Emma asked.

"About that girl that died three nights ago, or was most likely killed..." Laurentia trailed off.

"By Tom." Emma finished.

Smile disappeared from Idris' face. "You gotta be kidding me..."

"Unfortunately, no." Laurentia said.

"So you told Edwen what you saw and Tom thought it was me..." Emma concluded.

"Yes. I was so worried..."

"What did Edwen say about Slytherin-looking guy?" Idris asked thoughtfully.

"Nothing. He just said he would talk to Tom... I'm scared." Laurentia admitted, "The guy looked like an exact copy of the Slytherin's portrait and that sculpture of him in the Chamber, maybe just a few years older but otherwise... It's not possible is it."

"... I think Tom mentioned Salazar when he was... _talking_ to me last night, since he thought I told Edwen about it." Emma informed the two.

"But Salazar lived over thousand years ago." Laurentia whispered. Most students would be enthusiastic because the founder of their house was still alive, she wasn't feeling it thought.

"Maybe he used philosopher's stone." Emma suggested.

"Not likely," Idris said, "Nicolas Flamel was the only known wizard who had it. And he was born in 1327. when you add the years it took him to create the stone you have a time gap of 400 years or more."

"As you said, he is the _only know _wizard who had the stone," Emma pointed out, "maybe Slytherin had it too, but no-one knew about it."

"Or he could have created something else to keep him alive for so long..." Laurentia suggested, "Flamel supposedly created the stone, so that means others should be able to create something to."

"I guess," Idris said still skeptical, "He was one of the greatest wizards of his time..."

"Well, what do you know about him?" Emma asked.

"Nothing. His life is a black empty hole in history." Idris admitted.

The girl quieted down, each wrapped in her own thoughts.

* * *

Tom looked up at the gray morbid walls of the Azkaban's fortress which were raising threateningly, so high that it looked like they were going to touch the dark stormy clouds.

He mellowly walked towards the entrance.

_"Pathetic. They hired humans to guard the prison instead of dementors. Truly pathetic."_

Walking casually to the guard standing on the door half asleep Tom greeted him.

"Wha'? Who are you and what are you doing here boy?" The Auror asked, confused to see a teen around thirteen in such a place.

Tom just smiled at him, "Would you mind letting me pass?"

"You can't go in there." The Auror stated quickly, he couldn't figure out what was such a young boy doing there, it was a time of peace after all.

Tom's smile disappeared and he looked the man in the eyes.

"I asked." He muttered to himself not braking the eye contact. The second latter the Auror fell on the floor.

"So boring." He commented as he opened the door of the fortress and stepped in. He wondered how many Aurors were guarding the prison, then again he didn't really care. They would probably act as the one on the door, all confused, and no matter how powerful they actually were, with their guard down it would take him only a second to knock them out.

He walked to the pedestal with four books. Taking the quick look he found the one holding the names of the prisoners and the number of their cell. Finding the name he had been searching for he looked at the book where all the visitors were listed.

_"... why not?"_

Smiling maliciously he took a feather from the ink bottle and wrote down **_Lord Voldemort_**.

He went his way chuckling trough the hallways a childish grin on his face and mischievous glint in his dark eyes. But his happy mood vanished once he arrived at the cell he had wanted to visit.

In the dirty stony room an incredibly old man was lying on the wooden prison bed.

"Arcturus Lestrange." Tom whispered silently to himself, but his voice rung clearly trough the silence surrounding him.

The man on the bed got himself in a sitting position wishing to see who had called his name, the voice was so familiar even thought he hadn't heard it in almost hundred years.

As he looked at the door his old eyes were colored with disbelief.

"Not possible." His old rough voice screeched trough the air.

Tom just kept looking at him barely capable to hid his disgust as he saw the others man face. The old yellow eyes, dirty teeth and terribly wrinkled face.

"Tom Riddle." The man said silently and then repeated the name, "Tom Marvolo Riddle..."

His lips formed the same name again and again until then he started laughing maniacally. Tom just watched him casually, waiting for the old man to get over the shock.

Once Arcturus stopped laughing, he sauntered towards the door and his hands gripped the cold metal bars. Tom stayed where he was though he wanted to step away in repulsion.

"It really is you." The man said staring at him, at his dark unreachable eyes.

They stared at each other for some time before Tom noted for Arcturus to step aside as he opened the bars and stepped in watching the man saunter back to his bed. He didn't part his gaze of the boy, not for a second, like Tom was going to disappear if he did. Tom stood there in the middle of a cell watching around with curious eyes like never saw anything as interesting as the small, stony room he was in at that moment. Then his eyes finally settled on the man.

"You were a Death Eater were you not?" He asked.

The only response was a weak nod.

"Yet you betrayed Voldemort at the first chance you got." Tom said quietly.

Arcturus noticed that the boy in front of him spoke about Voldemort as a third person, he had said _betrayed Voldemort_, not _betrayed me._

"Why do you care?" He whispered his question.

Tom smiled, "I actually don't, I was just wondering why you did it... And I came here to ask you somethings about him..."

"You tricked us all didn't you?" Arcturus asked.

"Hmm...? I don't know what you are pointing at."

"You know Tom, when people end up in jail like I did, they have to much of free time to think, to remember, to question... I started questioning why exactly did I betray Dark Lord, when did I start doubting that he was you... After all I was next to your side since the day we first met at the train." He spoke in distant voice, thinking back about everything.

"When we first met and later as I was standing next to you as your friend, or so I thought, I was noticing many things about you that, at that time under your full manipulation abilities, I never questioned. Everything about you was just... there, and I couldn't imagine you any other way. But after spending so may years in prison... thinking, regretting and remembering, without you there to keep my thoughts in line as you wished them to be I noticed even bigger difference between you and Dark Lord and I never regretted betraying him."

"Unlike the others who either joined in later or didn't have time to think, I noticed the huge gap between your and his personality... and I saw you in a true light, dark one, true. Darker one then when you were holding my eyes closed while you were next to me, but still to light for you to be that monster that was destroying Magic world to which you clung so desperately."

"Both you and Dark Lord are selfish, manipulative, powerful and cold. But you are someone who has a soft spot and no matter how much you try to hid it, it's still there. In little unconscious subtle moves and emotions playing deep in your eyes. The softness it's right there behind that mask that always covers your face and it's fighting to surface and you are fighting to keep it locked."

"You have no idea what you are talking about." Tom cut him icily.

"Oh, but I do. No matter how many times you repeated that you hate Muggles back in our school days, the smile you put when you heard about that Muggle-born who's parents were killed in war, who was left all alone, that smile was to cold, to distant, to fake to be cold a smile of satisfaction and it took me ten years of prison if not more to figure out why was that. But I know now, even if you hated Muggles as you claimed, you knew what loneliness felt like, you, unlike the rest of snobs from Slytherin and other houses new how it felt to be left by everybody, to have no-one to turn to, to have no-one to trust to."

Arcturus laughed suddenly, "I am being overly dramatic, am I not? Well anyway after I noticed that I started wondering how was it possible for you to develop into such a monster and I kept noticing more and more differences between you two. One being the huge difference in intelligence and charm if I may say so."

Then he got serious again, "There is nothing you should know about Voldemort, Tom. Let it be. I was born into a pure-blood family and raised with the knowledge that only we should exist and even I realize how wrong that was."

Tom looked at the floor and whispered, "It's hunting me... Having a mud-blood friend now, it's hunting me. The knowledge that I created him..."

"That you created him..." Arcturus echoed, "I always though that you just somehow disappeared... I was never able to understand why you changed so much and so drastically in the last two or three years of school, but ... created..."

"To long story. And I am leaving." Tom said as he turned toward the door.

"I am dying." The man whispered when Tom was at the door, "I don't know if you ever considered me your friend, we were to different... but pleas do come to visit me again. It's nice to see a familiar face. I don't want to die alone."

At first he thought that Tom was just going to walk away and he would be left there to rot alone in that pathetic cell. But the dark-head turned to look at him once more. There was a glint of something in those deep emerald eyes, but it disappeared too quickly for the old man to be sure what he saw, thought it looked like grief.

Tom walked to his old school acquaintance and put one subtly glowing hand on the man's chest on the side where heart was. He whispered something that sounded like a goodbye and Arcturus felt his heart slowing down painlessly.

"One more thing Tom..." Arcturus mumbled with the last bits of his strength, "Try to be honest with yourself, stop hiding, or you'll live to regret it."

Tom left the dead man and that small stony room not once turning to look back, as he passed the four books on the pedestal he thought about erasing the name he had written previously in one. But he suddenly felt to tired to do it, besides he still had to delete the memories of the entrance guard.

* * *

_"Finally."_ Tom thought as he saw the lights of the familiar castle.

Entering it quietly he wondered where his friends were, it was almost dinner time, if he hurried he might have enough time to take a shower and be on time for dinner with them. They always ate the last meal of the day together. He should find siblings too, they were probably sick worried by now since they couldn't found him all day...

He didn't even finished his last thought when he heard Artemisa's voice ringing from the other side of hallway as she called his name. Turning he saw both siblings running towards him, worry and anxiety obvious on their faces.

"Where were you?" Edwen asked.

"We looked for you all day." Artemisa added.

Tom opened his mouth to tell them to stop worrying so much and that he was in the castle all day... but he closed it. For a second, that seemed like the longest moment of his life Tom was watching them, their eyes full of concern.

"I went to Azkaban." He admitted, and thanked God that Dumbledore wasn't alive to tell him another love story, trying to prove that he would feel better after telling the truth then if he had lied.

"You went to... Why did you go there?"

"I wanted to speak to someone... an ex Death Eater and my old school friend."

The siblings stayed silent waiting for him to continue. They still looked upset and not angry as he expected them to.

"I wanted to know more about Voldemort. I..." Tom took a deep breath, "I am sorry."

There he said it. (And yes he had already regretted that he hadn't lied.)

Siblings just stood there, looking at him as he watched the floor.

Artemisa hugged him.

"It really bugs you, doesn't it?" She asked.

Edwen came closer to him, "You are not like that Tom. You are better. And you didn't know what your replacement was going to turn up to be."

_"When did I told them it bugs me what Voldemort did?" _Tom asked himself. He was sure he never mentioned it to anybody.

A small insecure, but happy smile appeared on his face. Even after everything he'd been trough with the two he was still surprised ever time they show how much they care about him and how much they seem to know him. He couldn't describe with words how thrilled and happy he was that he had found friends like them.

Half an hour later he was sitting among his Slytherin friends. Fabius was still mumbling to himself that Tom was crazy for going all the way to Azkaban for something irrelevant as what Voldemort was like, others were chatting happily oblivious of what the boy sitting with them had done. Tom caught Edwen's eyes and the boy smilied to him from the Ravenclaw tabel, he then saw Artemisa watching him and smiled to her as she winked at him.

Looking at the stuff's table he saw their Herbiology teacher. Smile disappeared from his face and he quickly looked away. Looking around the Great Hall he saw more and more faces of the people in the room who's lives were affected by the war with Voldemort.

Pushing his plate aside he got up and left the table. His Slythering friends looked after him, but didn't said a word about it. Edwen and Artemisa exchanged worried glances.

Din slowly got up from his place and whispered something to Daisy before telling the rest he was leaving too.

Tom had just fell on his bed when the door opened and Din entered the room, taking a familiar book out of his robes and trowing it to Tom.

He easily caught his diary, his irritated eyes burning hols trough Din's head.

"It was quiet easy to brake the spell hiding your entries. Almost disappointingly easy." The brown-haired boy informed him.

"I never thought someone would even try to touch it." Tom admitted.

"It's quite interesting. You obviously desire power and yet you hate war."

"You wouldn't understand. You grow up in the peaceful times." Tom told him, "You don't know how it feels like to live ever day afraid that you might be the next one to die. You don't know how destroyed streets look like. You never saw pieces of people thrown around, you don't know the panic griping the hart when you here the sound of explosion."

"I thought you to be more cold than that. Now, I wonder how did you kill that girl few nights ago."

"You read my diary and you still ask such a stupid question? Din, I am afraid of war and dislike it because I might die, not because others will. I am cold enough to kill, I am manipulative enough to successfully control almost anybody, I am selfish enough to kill, to manipulate, to trick anybody for my own gain. I want power, but I hate violence. It's hard to control violent people, they act on impulse not reason..." Tom quieted down deep in his own thoughts, that even after reading his diary Din wasn't able to even dream of guessing.

"However the war seems to like you." Din said, "So little time had passed since the things started to go in that direction and a first big battle had already happened. Around 100 wizards died." Din said.

Tom looked at him, "First big battle?"

"So you don't know about it... Guess that means they weren't fighting forces from your island... I really wonder what this war is about, there are some legends about the prophecy..."

"It's not about it." Tom cut him looking at the ceiling, "All the human prophecies come true only because people believe in them. If they didn't pay them attention, they wouldn't come to pass. Though, it probably is the excuse to start the war in the first place."

He got up and exited the room, leaving Din in watching the closed door.

_"I know it's not about the prophecy because I heard it, and because I know which people believe in it and which just use it as a sure step towards their goals. I know it's never going to come true because so many people believe me to be the one of the prophecy and yet I know there are so may people who could easily overpower me, and who could still be my match even if I was at my full capability, if not even more powerful... And that battle Din mentioned... I should connect Alkaios and see if he knows something about it, though I am sure he would have informed me if he did..."_

* * *

__**Author's note: **Alright I now it's Suterday instead of Friday and I hope it won't happen again, but yesterday for some reason I was unable to enter my account (T.T), I don't know if it happened to anybody else. (?.?)

I didn't have school this week (Thought i still had to study -.-) so this chapter is longer then expected. 5 645 words! That should get me a review or two don't you agree?

Well,

Thank you all for reading,

Till next chapter,

Ciao, ciao (^.^)


	41. Pain

**41. Pain**

Only minutes after his conversation with Din, Tom was standing in front of a big mirror in the middle of the Room of Requirement.

"Esoptron epideiknumi, sullale Alkaios Alexandros I" Tom casted the spell and waited for the familiar room to materialize on the surface of the cold glass.

The man in front of him didn't even blink at the sudden image on the window he had been watching the outside darkness trough.

"Tom?" He greeted curiously.

"Alkaios was there any big battle the island was part of?"

"No. Did something happen?" The older man asked worriedly.

"Can you call Stefan in?" Tom asked anxiously.

Alkaios carefully analyzed boys face before nodding and exiting the room. He returned few minutes later followed by obviously nervous boy.

"Did you hear anything about a battle that occurred recently?"

Stefan just shook his head slightly confused now.

"What happened Tom?" Alkaios questioned.

"I found out that there was a battle not long ago and around 100 wizards died."

"We didn't get a word of such thing ever happening..." Alkaios said worriedly, "Is the source of your information reliable?"

"I think so... though it was more of a slip while trying to get some information from me..."

"Then two big forces already clashed." Alkaios said thoughtfully, "Most likely it was the empire we only heard rumors of and Salazars subordinates."

Stefan twitched when he heard the name.

"But Stefan didn't hear about it." Tom protested and the older boy shot him a glance full of disbelieve and betrayal.

"Don't worry," Alkaios tried to calm the boy, "Tom didn't tell me you were Salazar's spy, I figured that long time ago, but decided to stay quiet since you developed some kind of friendship with Tom."

The teen nodded in understanding and looked back the the window glass where the reflection of spaced-out Tom and the room he was in was still displayed.

Tom was getting irritated, he hated the feeling of ignorance and the tension caused by it, and both feelings were trying to drown him right then and there.

"You haven't explained why is it that Stefan knows nothing of the battle is Salazar's warriors were fighting." He spatted.

"There could be numerous reasons for that as, I am sure, you are well aware of," Alkaios said nonchalantly before releasing the spell, "Apolutrosis."

Tom watched as the image of the room slowly drifted away and was replaced by the reflection of him and the space surrounding him. He closed his dark orbs and breathed slowly and deeply trying to calm himself.

It took him longer then something as trivial as putting his emotions under control should, which in turn made made him angry at himself. He shook his head in slight disbelief. He had been losing control over his emotions a lot lately, like he was some average teenager.

Opening his eyes he analyzed his reflection. He never really gave it much though how emotions worked on the biological and psychological aspect... but since he had a body of a teenager, he cogitated, he most likely should have a reactions and lack of control typical for one.

Sighing he turned from the mirror and lied on the bloody-red sofa near it looking at the high ceiling. It crossed his mind that every time he entered the Room of Requirement, wanting to be alone, in both eras, it had more or less the same look.

It was huge, with high ceiling and crystal chandelier with only few lighted candles, because of which the room was dimly lit and shadowed. If the room had a better light it would look more sunny and welcoming, like this it looked mysterious and intriguing. It was always empty except the glamorous looking red sofa and mirror framed with gold.

He wondered if it showed something about him. It had to, otherwise it wouldn't be the same every time he entered... or maybe it would be the same. The same in a way that if he was different he would be entering the different room form this one, but that one wouldn't change either and every time he entered it, it would have the same architecture...

What was the room subtly telling about him?

_"...Or better, why am I suddenly questioning myself such things? ... I wonder what others thing of me, how do the see me? ... Not that I really care about their opinion..."_

Tom looked at his reflection from the sofa he was still lying on. In the mirror he saw a pair of curious dark eyes looking back at him.

The long, slim figure in casual clothes was lying on the grand rich-red sofa. The ghostly pale skin was smooth and creamy, like a porcelain, even the cheeks were missing the healthy shade of pink. The face could be described as handsome with somewhat square shape and dark, black bangs falling freely over his forehead, his lips were slenderly thick and its corners were turned upwards in a barely visible smirk. His face was like a mask placed over a living being.

But the dark emeralds were what would get everyone's attention and hold it firmly. Those two green mirror-like orbs held everything that the mask on his face so perfectly hid away. The deep darkness of his eyes was holding everything, his every thought, every emotion, every secret. All of those things were like ember playing behind the emotionless surface.

Tom slowly got up and walked to the mirror. He had the royal posture and even his reflection seemed to radiate an aura of confidence.

The glitter deep in his eyes changed from one of curiosity to the one of worry and fear. Why was he doing that? Why was he trying to figure out how he looks in the eyes of others? Why did he care? Why did it bother him? Why was he questioning himself?

Once again he was fighting with himself... Or maybe just continuing the old war after the short windless period. His heart was fighting with his brain. His wishes were clashing with cold logic. Willingness to try was colliding with fear of falling.

He wanted to be alone. He wanted friends by his side. He wanted to open up. He was afraid of getting hurt. He had people close to him. He was building the walls that guarded him even higher and stronger. He wanted to be loved. He hated the whole human race. People could be good, kind, interesting and fun to be around. People were stupid, selfish, lying, arrogant beings.

... and he was just one of them. One trying to be free from all the borders of human race.

Tom started coughing. In a second he was on his knees. His whole body aching.

Removing his hands from mouth and chest he placed them on the cold floor slowly getting up and cursing himself and the Dark magic potion he took almost one week ago.

At first the potion had great effects on him. He had been faster and seemed to have had more energy and had needed less sleep. But few hours ago the effects of the potion had started to wear off. He felt extremely tired and now even had a couch attack, not to mention that his whole body hurt. The pain was huge. That was how he imaginated the Cruciatus Curse to feel like.

Exiting the Room of Requirement he walked slowly down the empty hallways.

He saw a curly-haired girl leaning on the windowsill looking trough the glass. He silently leaned on the windowsill next to her.

"What are you doing here so late?" He questioned.

"Watching the stars. They are so bright tonight." Emma whispered in a dreamy voice, as it was the most obvious thing in the world. She didn't turn to look at him.

"I'll never understand how a girl as intelligent as you are can be so innocent and naive." Tom said looking at her.

"I am neither of those." She admitted quietly, "Though I gave the impression of being a vulnerable angel and we both know that first impressions are the most lasting ones."

Tom looked back trough the window, "What is you impression of me? I am sure it changed since we met."

"Am I the right person to ask such a question? My way of seeing the world and everything in it is in unrealistically bright colors."

"And yet you are a terrible liar and therefor you couldn't hid your true opinion in shadows of your mind." Tom countered easily.

Emma stayed quiet.

The comfortable silence covered them as they both stood there leaning on the windowsill, until her careful voice broke trough it.

"I can't say that you are either a good or a bad person. Then again, there probably aren't such people who are completely good or bad... It's true that my opinion on you changed, more then once, and in the same time... it's the same. You are still the same mysterious, intelligent and intriguing boy I met at train that day. I already told you this once, you are interesting to watch, trying to figure you out is fascinating. Every time I think I got to know you, you surprise me. It's even irritating at times."

The whole time she was speaking in serious voice, she hadn't once turned to look at him. She was quiet for a moment before she added in a cheerful voice, "You are also selfish, proud, arrogant as hell and overly confident. I wish I had the tenth of your confidence."

Tom looked at her seriously, "No one can make you feel inferior without your consent. You are the only one guilty for your lack of confidence."

Emma finally looked at him, kind smile playing on her lips, "We are the same and yet completely opposite. You are afraid of letting people in, and I am afraid of them leaving... That's why I follow the crowd."

"If you follow the crowd you might get lost in it." Tom told her, "There is no joy in being what others want you to be. There are so many people who will tell you who you can and who you can't be. All of them will want you to do as they say. All of them will tell you that you can't do or be something. You need to turn around and say '_Watch me_'. You need to learn to stand for something or you will fall for anything."

"It's easier to stand in the crowd," Emma said quietly, "Stand there and dream of being free... It takes courage and confidence to stand alone... and I don't have them."

"You can't learn to fly if you are not prepare to crash." Tom informed her.

"That sentence sounds strange coming from you. After all, of everyone I know, you have the biggest fear of falling," Emma said stepping away from the window.

She started walking away and added, "But you know Tom, the higher you build the walls around your heart, the harder you fall when someone tears them down."

She stopped and turned her head slightly to look at him.

"I hope someone does tear those walls guarding you one day, and I hope you crash, it would teach you a valuable lesson," she said seriously before adding in a happy dream-like voice while walking away again, "Though, it would leave you damaged too and damaged people are dangerous because they know they can survive."

Her voice was slowly fading away as she walked further and further from him, but he could still hear her thoughts spoken out loud.

"Maybe that's where his confidence comes from, he is already damaged. He knows he can live... I am optimistic and that means I expect the best, he is confident which means he knows how to handle the worst..."

As her steps and thoughtful voice completely died away and Tom looked out of the window. She really was strange. No matter how much she tried to blend in the crowd, she was always standing out. In the world where she could be anything, she was just her bizarre self.

He might be more confident then she was, but she always made him wonder just who is being his true self and who is the one putting the show for the lattices of people around them.

He let out a breath he didn't know he was holding.

_"Weirdo." _He addressed her in his mind and then smiled imagining her shooting back _ego-boy._

He wasn't sure if he deserved that nickname. He could be selfless and think about others too. He wasn't that egoistic, was he?

Yeah... yes he was. Oh, well.

He was about to go to the dormitory when another coughing wave shocked his body. When it passed he leaned on the windowsill taking deep breaths. He was getting dizzy. His legs felt wobbly and he was looking trough the ticker and ticker fog.

Everything went black.

* * *

"Tom?" A silent voice called, "Tom are you awake?"

He was pretty sure that someone was calling him. He heard a loud sigh near him.

His body hurt even thought he was lying on something soft. His head felt like exploding. Trying to raise his hand to cover his eyes from the tenuous light he realized that it hurts to much to even try to move.

He could feel someones hand touching his forehead lightly.

Another deep sigh.

"What did you think going around Hogwarts if you didn't feel well? What if something happened to you? This castle isn't as safe as it maybe was in the time of your birth. And since when are you so irresponsible?"

The voice sounded more familiar now. Tom was certain he had heard it somewhere before, actually it used to be one of the voices he didn't find irritating but friendly and welcoming. He couldn't remember to who it belonged.

Opening his eyes he saw a young blond teen sitting next to him and mixing some kind of potions together. Tom was positive he saw the boy before. He had the memories of him but he couldn't remember the teens name.

"Here, drink this." The blond ordered.

Tom took a small glass form him and started drinking while trying to remember the teens name.

"Edwen?" He said insecurely.

"Yes?"

"What time is it?" Tom asked quickly.

"It's nearly three in the morning," Edwen answered tiredly.

Tom nodded, "Have you slept?"

"No. After Sirius contacted me, all worried because you looked pale, I looked for you and found you in the middle of the hallway unconscious. I've been looking after you since then."

It took Tom a moment to remember that Sirius was the name Alkaios was still using around everyone but Protectors. He nodded absently, hoping that Alkaios hadn't questioned Stefan about anything.

"Did you call Sirius to tell him I was fine?"

"You are far from fine Tom. But, yes I did call him and told him how you were just really tired and needed some sleep."

"Thank you." Tom whispered.

"Don't thank me yet. I want you to explain what exactly is damaging your body so much. I am not that good at healing even though I am from castle of light, but I did a check on you and... I can't even explain it right, it's like something is destroying your cells, but when i tried to find poison in your body there was non."

Edwen stopped talking for a moment. He sat there in silence, staring at nothing, thinking.

"What did you do Tom?" he finally asked.

"Nothing."

Edwen didn't even bother to look at Tom or repeat the question. His skepticism was obvious.

Tom looked away from him and mumbled as fast as he could, "Itookadrarkmagicpotion."

The blond looked at him, "Will you pleas repeat that? Slowly."

"I took some potion."

"You took some poison?" Edwen asked in disbelief.

"No. I took a _potion,_" Tom repeated, "Dark magic potion."

Edwen just blinked at him. It took some time for the information to sink in his brain and then another ten quiet, awkward minutes for him to calm down.

"You took a Dark magic potion," He repeated coldly, "And what was that potion for?"

"I don't know, but it seems to increase energy, speed and strength... though the after effects are painful." Tom said as he felt another wave of pain.

"So let's summarise," Edwen said, "You took a Dark magic potion, that you had no idea what will do to you. A potion that might have been a poison..."

"I knew it wasn't a pois..." Tom tried to cut in.

"I'm talking right now! You took a potion that might have killed you, and, let me guess, it was out of curiosity. Anything I missed?"

Silence fell on them.

Tom was watching Edwen with completely expressionless face, only barely hidden misery in his eyes showed that he was still in pain. The silver eyes were trying to pierce trough Tom's head in their anger. As Tom started coughing the anger in them didn't lessen.

Edwen stood up and started walking towards the door.

"Where are you going now?" Tom asked weakly.

"Back to my dorm. I am going to leave you like that without healing you, till tomorrow. Maybe you'll learn something from this experience, though I won't hold my hope up since, knowing you, it's highly unlikely. You are to stubborn to admit you were wrong."

Edwen exited the room with a loud bang, leaving a stunned Tom behind.

As another pain wave passed his body, Tom silently wished that Edwen got caught by some professor. He couldn't believe that the blond, he considered a part of a family he never really had, have left him like that.

_"Learn something from this pain? Guh! Did he think he was doing a good thing by leaving me like this?"_

Curling in a ball, he tried to fell asleep, hoping that the pain would lessen soon.

* * *

**Author's note:** Alright, I know this chapter was extra short. (Only 3258 words.) But I can explain. No seriously I can.

But I won't. It would take me forever to write the explanation (longer then the chapter itself).

Anyway, nothing mush to say considering you don't write reviews and therefor I don't know if there is something that is needed to be explained.

Till the next chapter then,

Ciao, ciao


	42. Tricking questions

**42. ****Tricking questions**

It was early Monday morning and Idris was the only person in the library. She was walking among the maze of shelves crammed with books. Her first class that morning was Magical Theory and she was trying to find a book holding all the important information about today's lesson.

It irked that Tom was always the best. She wanted to be the top student at at least one damn subject! But so far, she had failed.

Sighing she took few books from the shelf and leafed through them. Choosing one she returned the rest to their places and walked to the nearest table. Idris had a hard time concentrating though. She was sure that while Tom was brilliant, the only reason why she couldn't reach his level was because he had studied most of the material 100 years ago. She was on pair with Ravenclaws.

She remembered how she wished she could read Tom's file from all those years ago when she had found out in what time he lived before, but she was sure that there was no way she could have gotten it. But maybe...

Irritated by the lack of concentration Idirs slammed the book shut and stormed to the Great Hall.

All of her Slytherin friends, Tom excluded, were already there eating there breakfast. Well Emma, Laurentia and Devlin were eating that is. Fabius was prompting with Din, and both boys seemed angry. And Daisy was... being Daisy. she was looking around what everybody else did, stopping a few girls that passed by to gossip with them then looking around again.

Idris stormed to them and harshly pushed Devlin to make place for her to sit.

"Someone is in a full mood today." Laurenta said in a sing-song voice.

Idris decided to ignore her and instead turned to Emma wondering if the girl had got Tom to help her with Ancient Runes homework, since she needed help too. However Emma seemed to be in one of her creepy moods since she was playing with the food in her plate singing something that sounded like children's song under her breath. Next to Idris Devlin was still complaining how she could have asked for him to move instead of hitting him. _Hitting him!_ She hadn't _hit _him, just pushed him away roughly.

Sighing she tried to calm down. She really wanted to get her fingers on Tom's old file since she was sure it was sill in the store room collecting dust. She read once somewhere that the files were destroyed ever 150-200 years or something, since wizards lived as long as they did. But to even try to get the file she would need help. And where was she going to find people daring enough? Sure not in Gryffindor. That means she had to find someone curious enough and crazy enough to even want to try something as risky as that.

She snorted.

_"Yeah, good luck with finding such idiots." _She thought looking at Emma still playing with her food or more likely now watching her food with empty Bambi-eyes and harshly stabbing the strawberries in it. Idirs flinched.

_"Well that's a new one." _She thought while watching her friend. Emma wasn't either violent or emotionless person and right now, she seemed to be both. The girl had been in Slytherin for way too long.

"Hello! Earth to Idris!" Laurentia said waving her pale hand in front of Idris' face.

"Hmm?"

"Were you even listening to me?" Dark-headed girl pouted.

Idris casted a quick glance towards her then looked back at Emma then still whining Devlin. And she wondered where to find idiots for her wish when she had them right there in her own house. She looked at Fabius.

_"Nope, he'll have to be out. He is the best friend with Tom after all."_

"Sorry Laur, I was just thinking about getting something..." She stopped to look at Fabius again, he was still preoccupied with Din, "...something really interesting. And I thought that Emma, Devlin and you could help me."

Both Emma and Devlin looked at her when she mentioned their names.

"What's in it for us?" Devlin asked.

_"Damn Melfoy." _Idris cursed in her head, but smiled sweetly nonetheless.

"Oh, I think you will find that something rather interesting too. Tell you what, meet me in our common room after this class and I'll tell you all about it. We have potions together after that so we won't be late."

They all nodded and Idris happily continued eating her breakfast. Though she noticed that Emma was now starring at her with her big brown eyes instead of the plate in front of her.

_"Well at least she stopped singing that irritating song." _Idris thought before dismissing her completely.

Emma was watching Idris curiously.

It it was Tom, Emma would be sure that he was planing something that works for another ten plans which work for another ten plans and so on. But Idirs wasn't like that, she just wasn't some control freak like Tom... though she did have a tendency to plan her day in advance.

Looking at Laurentia and Devlin she sighed.

She had always wondered how was it that many children from pure-blood and half-blood families didn't know each other before Hogwarts.

When it comes to her Slytherin friends, Din and Daisy had known each other like forever, since their perantes were close friends. Same was with Devlin and Laurentia, though Devlin was close friend with Fabius too and yet the black-headed boy had only met Laurentia before Hogwarts once or twice. Idirs had met all of them but wasn't particularly close to any before the school.

They were all kids of high-profile individuals and yet they had barely knew each other. It must have been a lonely childhood. Emma had traveled a lot as a young girl and therefor never really had a best friend (if you count her teddy bear out), but she had still played with other children all the time.

And yet, once they all came to Hogwarts they all befriended one another in no time, while she felt confused with so close connection.

It was obvious that neither Devlin nor Laurentia were questioning what it was that Idis wanted, nor did they question why Fabius was so obviously excluded.

Really now? If she wanted something Fabius and Tom were the best persons to ask for help. Tom wouldn't help unless he could gain something from it or if he was bored out of his skull. Fabius on the other hand, wasn't as predictable, not that Tom was it was just that if he is helping he most certainly is either bored or wants something, something you could never guess what it is. But unlike Tom, Fabius could actually feel like helping or maybe he was bored too but it wasn't as obvious since he wouldn't said it out loud?

In any case Idris should have asked them for help, even if it meant she wasted five precious minutes. So why didn't she asked them?

Emma doubted she wanted anything Fabius connected, so the only other option was Tom. But what would she want from him. If she wanted to get his diary she can count her out same second.

"I'm off for my next class," Idris announced, "See you in Common Room. Do. Not. Forget."

Devlin rolled his eyes waving her off, "How could we?"

"Emma?" Laurentia called nudging her slightly.

"Hmm?"

"Don't you have this class as well?"

Laurentia's question broke from her daydreaming and she quickly got up.

"Right! See you later."

Laurentia looked after Emma's curly head until it disappeared out of view.

_"I can't believe I ever thought we are the best generation of Slytherin ever. Our year is just a bunch of weirdos."_

* * *

Edwen was sitting next to his adopted brother on the Magical Theory class, and had considered a few times to heal Tom even though he promised him to leave the dark-eyed in pain hoping it would teach him something.

Looking sideways at Tom, he noticed that he was even paler then usual and that he was lying on desk breathing hard. Edwen was actually surprised that Tom hadn't asked him to help him yet even as proud as he was, since it was obvious that he hadn't got any sleep last nigh and that the pain was increasing.

"I hope you understand what stupid thing you have done to your self." He whispered.

"I do. I admit I was wrong for drinking that potion without knowing what it would do to me," Tom answered weekly and out of breath.

Edwen was about to inform him that he would heal him after the class ended when Tom added, "I'll use a rat or something next time and try the potion out on it before trying it myself."

Edwen trampled Tom'f foot as hard as he could. Tom winced.

"You do know you totally deserve to be in pain right now." Edwen said irritated.

Tom gave him no answer, and Edwen didn't expect him too.

When the class finally ended he stormed out of the classroom to angry to check if Tom would be capable of even moving at that moment.

"Are you alright?" Tom heard Emma ask quietly, "Maybe you should go to the hospital wing, you look pale, I mean paler then usual."

Tom waved his hand dismissively getting up slowly.

"If you are sure." She whispered looking him up and down with concern eyes, before leaving the classroom.

* * *

"Well now that someone finally arrived," Idirs started once Devlin entered the Common room, "I can tell you what I had in mind this morning."

"If it had anything to do with getting Tom's diary, I'm out." Emma interrupted her.

"It doesn't. However it does have something to do with Tom."

Emma let out loud a sigh. She knew it.

"Than what are we trying to take this time around?" Laurentia asked completely carefree.

"We aren't trying to take anything that's Tom's private property. More like school's property."

"School property?" Devlin questioned sounding bored.

"Yes. I was thinking that maybe we can get his old school file."

"Why would that file still exist in this school? It has been what... 100 years?"

"I'm sure it does exist," Emma said, "I remember Fabius mentioning how he read it once... Though I'm not 100% sure. Hmm... I think he said he read Tom M. Riddles school reports while we were still trying to figure out how were Voldemort and Tom connected... Older Tom or this in that time... Well you get the point."

"So the file definitely exists." Laurentia said.

"Did exist," Emma corrected her, "Since Fabius was capable of getting the file so was Tom, and either of them could have destroyed it."

"If the file isn't destroyed, why don't we ask Fabius to just go and get it?" Devlin asked.

"Obviously he had it and didn't share anything," Idris said, "Who says he would share anything now?"

"Point taken." Devlin nodded.

"Now I have a question," Laurentia announced, "If Fabius so easily got his hands on the file, why do you need our help Idris?"

"I didn't know Fabius got the file," She admitted, "And I don't know where the room with the student files is. I thought that Devlin could get that information from his parents. Furthermore, that sneaky bastard getting the file doesn't mean it's easy to get, I doubt it's hard either, but he is able to use wandless magic on level that we can't use our wands yet."

Devlin took out his talk net mirror and went a little further from them to try and contact Mr. Melfoy. Minutes later he returned. After his explanation where the room was they agreed that, Emma and Idris would go after their potion class to check the room since they didn't have the class after that, while Devlin and Laurentia would continue to their class Care of Magical creatures.

* * *

As the potion class passed Idirs and Emma were on their way to the room. All the way Idirs was complaining how unfair their potion professor was, giving them enough homework for next month. Emma kept quiet. She knew the only reason her friend was complaining so much was because the homework was difficult and Idris had already predicted that the only O in class would be the one Tom would get.

She couldn't understand why Idirs tried so much to outshine him. In her opinion it was a loosing battle and a waste of both energy and time. Tom was just bloody brilliant and Emma never even dreamed of even reaching his level as smart as she was.

No, really Idirs was fighting a loosing battle.

"Would you stop complaining? I would really like if you enlight me why are you even trying to compete with Tom. He is obviously a genius. You are just wasting your time."

"Did it ever cross your mind that he was soooo above our level because he already went to Hogwarts once?" Idirs snapped.

Emma rolled her eyes to the ceiling.

"Whatever you say... Looks like we are here."

"Are you kidding me?" Idris asked confused, "This is just a normal wooden door."

"Which is probably protected by some spell," Emma reminded her, like she was trying to remind a child to act polite.

"I know that, I was just expecting entrance to be hidden."

"Well since spells are no problem at all, this really is a pathetic security." Emma said sarcastically.

Idris ignored her and analyzed the door instead. After some time she finally reached for the door and tried to open it. Emma closed her eyes not sure she wanted to see whatever comes next.

"Weird." Idirs commented.

Emma cracked one eye open to see what was weird before confusedly moving to stand next to Idris. The door opened. Just like that.

Taking her wand out once more Idirs tried to pass it trough the entrance. Sparks flied when her wand made the contact with invisible barrier and she quickly withdraw her hand.

"Looks like this is as far as we go." Emma said sounding almost happy. Almost.

While she was sure that nosing around Tom's past could hurt them, she was also curious if Tom was as good back then as he was now.

Devlin and Laurentia were extremely disappointed when they heard that some kind of invisible barrier was keeping them from entering the room. They thought about looking trough books for more information but decided that it wouldn't help much, since they had no idea where to start.

"We'll think of something." Emma whispered more to herself then the others, "We'll definitively think of something."

* * *

Tuesday evening Tom was sitting in the library finally not in pain and was trying to do all the homework he hadn't done yet. Which turned to be more than he expected.

As promised Edwen had healed his yesterday evening, or more likely tried to heal him. It hadn't quiet worked. He was only able to lessen the pain and stop the coughing but nothing more. Since it had been late already they had agreed that since Tom had been feeling slightly better, that Edwen would try again the next morning. The next morning turned to be every single free period both of them shared since the blond was unable to detect what exactly was destroying Tom's body.

He had been experimenting the whole day with different healing techniques and was only two hours ago able to stop the future destruction of the body and to turn out the waves of pain completely. But it was still obvious that in the state Tom's body was by that point it would take incredibly lot of time for it to heal, though it eventually would. For the biggest part that is.

It seemed that some parts of his body were severely damaged and it would take them forever to heal completely if they ever would. But by the time healing the damage made to Tom's body should have started, both boys were to tired. Edwen had decided that they continue the healing process tomorrow after they both rest, after all Tom's body had been under to much magic pressure during the consummation of the potion and healing periods and healing him without letting his body rest first would, according to Edwen, had a opposite effect.

Tom hadn't argued with that, more of the concern for his adopted brother then because of the possibility of his system not responding in a good way to any more magic. After his anger at his sibling had passed, he started to worry that Edwen was overusing his magic. After the whole day of complicated spells the blond seemed completely drained of energy and Tom almost panicked that Edwen won't be able to get to his dorm without crashing.

Though his panic was quickly dismissed when Edwen steadily stood up and muttered something about Artemisa's help and Regeneration book he had to read.

A loud bang next to him startled Tom out of his thoughts.

He didn't look up to see who dropped the books on his table and sat across of him.

"Ahm."

Tom continued to ignore who ever it was.

"Ahm!"

Looking up he snapped, "What?"

"I need some help obviously," Emma smiled at him.

"In case you haven't noticed I have better things to do." Tom told her coldly.

Emma looked at the parchment in front of him and the headline.

"Transfiguration?"

Tom just looked back at the parchment and ignored her.

"I can help you with that I already finished it." She said cheerfully.

"Do you honestly think that I need your help?"

Emma snorted, "Of course not Tom. You are _the _best and can do anything."

"We agree on something then."

It was quiet for a while, only the flipping of pages and feather on the parchment braking the silence.

"What was the name of that witch that created those eyes that follow you around even though they are just painted on her pictures?" Emma suddenly asked.

Tom stayed quiet.

"So _you _don't know!" She said in fake alarming voice.

"I know." Tom answered shortly.

"Tell me."

"No."

"Why not it's not like I need that for any homework. So you aren't really helping me."

"Then why are you asking?" Tom questioned.

"I just want to find something you don't know." Emma said smiling dreamily.

"Sorry to disappoint you then. Her name was Magentia Comstock."

"And she lived from 1962 to... I can't remember now..." Emma said thoughtfully.

"She lived from 1895 to 1991," Tom corrected automatically.

"Oh? Who lived from 1962 than? I am sure it was she and it was artist or... maybe singer... or writer...?"

"There is a writer born in 1962. Her name is D. Hookum. She wrote a book about her life as a Muggle. She was a freak obviously."

"Right! She was the daughter of that guy who created Cheering charm!" Emma said happily.

Tom rolled his eyes, "That _guy who invented Cheering charm_ has a name Felix Summerbee and he lived from 1447 to 1508 therefor he wasn't her father but distant ancestor."

"Well mister knew-it-all at least you haven't tried to explain what the spell does. Sine I know it gives you a feeling of full happiness."

"After which you feel depressed." Tom added.

Emma shot him an irritated glance before asking other questions. Where was the first Quidditch tournament held? Who was the first female minister? Who created Antidote to Veritaserum? What does Bulgeye Potion do to the drinker? Who created the Fidelius Charm? What charm guarded the students'-file storage room? What Colloportus char did? What spells were used to guard Hogwarts... And tons of other questions. Tom answered them all without thinking twice and finished his homework in the same time.

"Anything else?" He asked after hour of such random questioning.

Emma crossed her hands and looked at the books in front of her trying to look angry, "No genius, nothing."

Tom smiled at her and exited the library. He needed to rest! And while Emma's questions weren't challenging they were irritating and stupid. Just how moronic did she thought him to be? Her question's were way too easy. Though, Tom was slightly surprised she knew all that stuff to be able to question him like that... maybe she just prepared questions before, not that he really cared, he was merely curious.

The moment Tom was out of sight Emma took her talk-net mirror from the top of her opened backpack.

There three faces were grinning at her.

"I can't believe it actually worked," Idirs said happily.

"Told you it will," Emma said proudly. The idea was hers after all.

"He practically told us what spells were put on the room to get everyone from entering." Devlin said laughing.

"Pity he didn't tell you how to get trough them." Idirs sighed.

"It would have been suspicious if I asked. While he does have a superiority complex, and needs to prove he knows everything, he is not stupid." Emma said.

"Doesn't matter," Laurentia said, "I will go to restricted section tonight and try to find the book with the spell we need, since it is most likely there. Emma go ask librarian in which book you can find the information about the spell and then come back to dorm. We don't want to get Tom's attention."

Emma just nodded and returned her talk-net to her backpack.

She started giggling. She couldn't believe she had successfully tricked Tom to tell her something. _Tom _of all people.

_"Who can say I'm not good enough for Slytherin now?" _She thought smugly packing the books, _"I wish I could trow all those bloody pure-bloods my success in face now. Well maybe some other time."_

* * *

**Author's note: **Emma is growing so fast =') (I'm so proud of her)

The evil Slytherins would consume her.

Me (being the Slythering and all): *evil laugh* yes, everything is going according to my plan... What? You say my readers are here?

*put on angelic face*

Thank you for reading the story, I would be glad if you leave a review or two. *sad face* I haven't seen one in a while now.

*happy face again*

Till the next chapter,

Ciao, ciao ^.^


	43. A step forward

**43. A step ****forward**

A blond guy in his late teens was standing in the big room watching the burning map on the table in front of him with angry eyes.

"Shouldn't we call Slytherin for help? We did give him three castles and one island as an exchange." An older man asked.

"We already used up our agreement. He swore with spiritus conperessus charm to never attack us. To always let us be our own kingdom. I was stupid I should have used our agreement better. That old weasel will most likely find the way around our treaty, even with that charm..." The teen said.

He was mumbling something to himself, it sounded like cursing.

"Young master?" The old man whispered worriedly.

His master turned and look at him smiling bitterly, "Guess what Euphemios, my father was right! He was right to curs me when he died," the teen said unhappily, "I lost. Again. I lost two more castles of his empire. Not to mention that," he sighed loudly, "Promrtheus still hadn't returned. I don't want to lose my brother. He is the only thing I have..."

The old man, Euphemios, looked at him with sorrow.

He was once the tutor of the teen in front of him and the teen's few years younger brother. He knew how close the two of them were.

Their father, a powerful but closed mind man, was the worst parent figure anyone could have. He never cared about the boys, only the empire he created. So since their mother had died when the boys were still young they grow up depending only on each other next to him, their former tutor, now the main adviser.

"Do not say such things Pelagius," the man said, "Your father had no right to judge you, he was just..."

He never finished the thought, because the big door leading to the entrance hall opened slowly and a young dirty and worn out teen followed by two guards entered.

"Oh, my." Emphemios whispered hurrying towards them and waving to the guards to move away.

Pelagius just stood in the middle of the room watching the scene in front of him with shock.

"What happened to you Promrtheus?" The older man asked the youngster.

The teen just shook his head and moved past him towards the burning map. Putting the fire out he mumbled some words to himself and searched the map with his pale gray eyes.

"I found them," he muttered more to himself then to the two men, "I have finally found them."

His older brother stood next to him and tried to heal his wounds but the younger teen just shook his hand dismissively and pointed a location on the map.

"I have found them brother."

The older man looked at where the boy was pointing.

His finger was at the blue part of map representing Atlantic ocean. Not too north, but still to far away from the equator. Maybe slightly towards the island of Great Britain.

That island, the one that holds the power bigger then all the rest. They finally had it's location.

* * *

Stefan was walking trough the Court slightly worried. It had been a week since he informed Tom of the intruders trying to figure out as much as they could about the island and it looked like Sirius, or anybody else for that matter, still didn't know that there were any invaders on the island.

What was Tom thinking?

He had said that Stefan should sneak out with all the kids currently living in Court and get rid of the intruders without telling anybody about it. They were lucky that the group investigating was as young as they were, otherwise they would have been killed. And it looked like Tom didn't bother to inform anyone about the fight. Which he should have since they didn't succeeded in getting rid of everyone. One guy around his age had successfully escaped them. The teen had the power to win even against Tom, and Stefan and the rest of the kids weren't exactly on that level yet.

Though, Stefan had to admit that the power of the kids from the Court was great and it was growing day by day. Soon they are all going to be on the level of their fugitive.

That, however, didn't matter. What did was that someone escaped them and had the information about their location. Maybe he should tell somebody about what happened even if Tom did tell him not to.

Or he could just trust Tom and forget about it, then when something bad happens blame the teen. That might not be such a bad idea at all.

Now which book should he read...

* * *

_"Here it is."_ Laurentia thought happily in the darkness of the restricted section. It took her three damn nights to find the blessed book that held the spell she needed.

Stretching her hand to reach the book she wanted, she froze when another hand casually took the book from the shelf.

"Dangerous book you want Laurentia," a mocking male tone called from behind her, his breath brushing her cheek.

She shivered. No wonder she hadn't heard anybody.

Turning around she snatched the book from Tom's pale hand and looked up at his smirking face and cold eyes shining from the darkness.

"You didn't have to scare me like that," she hissed angrily at him.

His smirk only turned bigger, "But it was so much fun. Do tell what do you need that book for?"

"Non of your damn business!"

"Why such attitude Laur? I just helped you get the book you wanted haven't I?"

"You scarred me to death!"

Tom sighed, "Isn't that a little over dramatic?"

Laurentia took a deep breath, "We are in the _Restricted section,_ it's not dramatic at all. God knows what exists among those books."

"True enough." Tom agreed smiling.

"Why are _you _here anyway?" She questioned.

"Hm? I don't know? Why would I be in a Restricted part of the Hogwarts' library? Maybe, but just maybe I'm here to get a book I'm not, as a third-year, allowed to read. But that's just what I think I'm here for." Tom said in a mocking tone.

"Don't play stupid with me. You _always _have an ulterior motive." Laurentia said looking at him with narrowed eyes.

"I see Emma has been rubbing off on you. Believe it or not I do normal things too."

"Humph."

"On the other hand, unlike me, you do seem to be hiding something." Tom commented nonchalantly.

She smiled sweetly at him, "Nothing I'll be sharing with you."

Tom quickly boxed her and lowered his head closer to her, "Care to repeat that?"

Laurentia just smiled at him happily, "Oh, trying to intimidate me? I find you to handsome to be afraid. Actually I think this _position _would gave an outsider an interesting picture. I think I'll start drooling just thinking of it." She said in a dreamy, to much Emma-like voice.

Tom took a step away from her and rolled his eyes. He leaned on the book shelf behind him and crossed his arms, "You have imagination that doesn't exactly fit a thirteen years old girl."

She just grinned, "I have an older influential cousin."

Tom shook his head smiling. Laurentia kissed his cheek and lightly skipped away with the book leaving him to ponder over what she needed the book for.

Exiting the library Laurenta smiled. She got the book they needed for entering that stupid storage room and getting their fingers on Tom's old file. Idris is going to jump up in the sky when she finds out.

Giggling to herself she hurried to her dorm, if any professor catches her out in the hallways now, all the efforts would have been for nothing. And she isn't trowing three sleepless nights out the window.

Skipping down another hallway she thought happily how they'll have the file soon.

* * *

**Author's note: **No, don't kill me (run and hid)

I had so much things to two last two weeks that I barely had time for even this to write.

I also noticed numerous mistakes in previous chapter and I'll correct them ASAP I promise. I'm so sorry, don't be angry at me please (crying), you don't leave any reviews and do I look angry? No, I'm still writing the story.

(Sob)

Till the next chapter, that will be longer I promise (the name is Phantoms of the magic world (there more information sob, sob))

Ciao, ciao


	44. Phantoms of the magic world

******44. Phantoms of the magic world**

There wasn't a single powerless, solitary hidden society left in magic world. Not one. All were under the control of the four main players.

Four kingdoms.

Four empires ruled by four men.

All of them moving behind the curtains of the world with their mighty armies behind them.

Now that only big players were left on the podium, the time of terror was coming living the bloody trail to mark it's road.

The masks of peace and beliefs in prophecies would soon fade away. Only power would became important, only instinct to survive would be the leading star, only those with cunning mind would live another day.

All the preparations were finished. The game has started. Outsmart who you can, run from those you can't, and pray that they won't come after you.

Kill.

Control.

No rules.

Who wins? Who looses?

Everything will soon be just a mix of blood split on the grass. Spells shining trough the night, brighter then stars. Dangerous, dark.

Phantoms would appear again. There won't be any place you can run too. Nowhere will be safe. They'll always find you. Hunt you down like the pray you are. How perspicacious would the pray need to be to escape it's predator?

A loud, cold laugh broke trough the silence of a shadowed room hitting the high walls and echoing trough the air.

As the noise died down a cruel smile continued playing on the edges of the soft lips. A pale hand slowly raised from a pair of dark calculating eyes. Black bangs fell over them again, free of the grip they were previously in.

Tom pushed himself up from the lying position on the leather couch.

Siblings had just left the room, after being able to heal him completely. Tom had to admit that Mrs. and Mr. Gray should be proud of them. The siblings had developed their powers to such level that even he was pleasantly surprised.

Dark eyes fell on the mirror handing on the wall and he chuckled again.

Alkaios had informed him about some rather interesting things earlier that day, as well as stating that he was proud of Tom for successfully making loyal friends from the kids he invited to Court. What could he say? He did his best. He thought still smiling.

Tom was slightly surprised that non of the kids there went about what happened and told some adult. Not that it would make any difference if they did. It was Alkaios who informed Tom of the intruders on the island. Like Tom could have known something like that being so far away without anybody telling him.

But the important thing was, that he had those kids fully under his control like he knew he would. And he had proved to Alkaios that he was right, and that the older man didn't allow him to invite those kids to Court for nothing. He knew human psychology well after all.

And when it comes to humans and bonds he wonders what his Slytherin friends were doing. He had a feeling they were up to something, but didn't really feel like stopping them. Since they excluded Fabius from their little scheme, they couldn't do any big damage so he just decided to let them play their own little games. For now.

* * *

"Are you sure you can preform the spell correctly?" Laurentia asked.

"Of course I can! I have been practicing it for a week. I can do this." Idris said irritated.

"Don't get me wrong, that spell looks really complicated and hard to me."

"I don't know if it's same for you, but ever since we started practicing wandless magic it was getting easier and easier to control my power when using a wand. All you have to do is learn what you say, and how you wave your wand and boom! First try and you do it correctly." Emma whispered in her sleepy voice.

"I agree." Idris nodded, raising her wand.

Laurentia looked at her curly-haired friend, "You are getting weirder day by day Emma, you know that? You should really cut that ghostly look out of your eyes. It's creepy."

The Bambi-eyed girl just smiled happily, for a second looking like the girl she had been when they met her.

"I find that staying in reality too long is going to destroy the happiness I carry around." She answered simply.

"How so?" Devlin questioned.

"I can feel darkness closing up on me. It's better to hide the carefree part and lock it deep inside of me till the storm passes. That way it would stay alive to live when the sunbeams break trough the darkness. If it was unprotected it would get hurt and shatter in peaces without a possibility to ever return to the innocent, colorful part of me that once existed."

Those words didn't make much sense to them. But they decided to just dismiss them. Emma was the one saying them after all, and it didn't matter if she was her spaced out self, or smiling cheerful self, she was just strange like that sometimes. She had a philosophy of life that no-one could understand.

A quiet fuzzy sound got their attention and they looked to see the barrier on the door slowly disappearing in light blue glitter.

Idris turned her head to smile at them, "Told ya' I can do it."

"Whatever. let's just find the file we need and leave."

"It's really dark in here," Devlin mumbled taking his wand out.

"And dusty," Laurentia added in slightly disgusted tone, "Do elves even clean this room?"

"Among so many files we are never going to find the one we want," Emma complained.

"Just search, would you?" Idris ordered them in low voice.

* * *

All the men in the room were in a low bow. Alkaios eyes glided from one figure to another.

This meeting had gone exactly how he had wonted it to.

The mask with name Sirius Mervelios III was of no use for him anymore, he had discarded it away. It was time that all the lords of the castles find out about his real identity. It was time to tell them that the last heir of the leading family was still alive and that he will be the leader of the forces in the coming war.

He had also informed all the important individuals of the island that starting today Tom Marvolo Riddle was no longer adopted son of Lord Orlando Gray and his wife, but his. Tom Marvolo Riddle had also officially become his hair and was from that moment on Tom Marvolo Alkaios Alexandros Riddle. The full magical ceremony of boy becoming his heir will be done once the boy returns from Hogwarts. It was a complicated ceremony and the preparations were to start now.

Alkaios had also decided to adopt two twin sisters, who weren't among the kids living in the Court. The girls parents had died earlier that year and they were going to be the future siblings of the new heir.

Giving a few more orders Alkaios made a motion with his hand for Lord Gray to follow him and left the room.

"I am glad you and your wife agreed to let me take Tom away from you. You two had got rather attached to the boy over the years," He said to the younger man.

"Lord Alkaios, it's true that we did. However it seemed that we never succeeded in replacing the parents figures he needed in his life. We are terribly sorry because of it. We do hope that you would be capable of being more that a mere guardian to the boy. You do seem to be important to him somewhat."

"That's what I hope for as well. However do not make a mistake that you and your wife don't mean anything to Tom. Even if he would never admit it out loud, you and your family were the closest thing to such human unity he ever had. I'm sure he holds you all dear. He did accept your son and daughter as his real siblings."

"Come to think of it, why did you found necessary to adopt the twin girls? Their grandparents could have taken care of the girls."

"Well you see, I'm afraid that Edwen and Artemisa wouldn't be able to deal with him for much longer. They have high moral standards and kind harts, like you and your wife do. While I'm sure that they would never abandon Tom as he would never them, I felt that it would be better if Tom had someone less moral as a family so to say. The twins would fit the role perfectly. After the ceremony the three of them would go through, as future siblings connected with blood-binding spell, they wouldn't be able to ever betray each other... and if Tom was to take my place one day, while the war still wasn't over... he would need such persons next to him."

"I hope that besides blood-binding spell, they would also come to accept each other as a real family," Mr. Gray said seriously.

Alkaios laughed, "Orlando, you'll soon find out that they are somewhat similar even though their personalities are a complete opposites. Before they do accept each other they'll be a handful. But I am ready to live trough it. After all Tom did succeed in getting all the kids currently in Court to unconditionally trust him... I'm sure he would make a miracle with those girls as well. Or maybe they would make a miracle out of him... hmm... it sure will be entertaining to see both things."

* * *

Half an hour had passed and they were still looking for the document they wanted. Or actually Idris was looking for a specific file, Laurentia was going trough every laughing at the pictures of the students, Emma had found some interesting file sometime ago and was now reading it under the light of her wand and Devlin was being a typical spoiled bastard sitting on a pile of folders and complaining about everything and anything he possibly could complain about.

Trying to calm herself and not curse all of her not-helpful-at-all friends Idris once again whispered to herself, "The file you want is somewhere here. Concentrate. Ignore them. You can find it."

The file she wanted had to be somewhere around the room. Why did Hogwarts have so many students? Having ten students less each year wouldn't really hurt them.

* * *

A teen around thirteen moved a figure on the chess board with passionless face. In front of him, his older siblings were giving orders to the much older men. Or rather his brother, the greatest emperor, was giving the orders his dark shadowed hair ruffling in the air, as his sister with her long brow hair followed him close behind with some scrolls in her hands.

Daidalos Amandus didn't like his older sibling at all, nor did they liked him. They didn't have a typical caring sibling connection. They had no connection at all. Well acually they did have some bond... they despised each other.

His brother, Zopyros, had just turned 21 a week ago. He was the picture of power. His posture was aristocratic and the way he walked royal. He had an aura around himself that demanded respect. Black eyes, mysterious and deep. Intelligent and cold he was refereed to as a genius.

That so cold _genius _had killed his, _their_, father when he was around 17 and took control over a little kingdom making it grow into a huge empire.

Daidalos saw non of it. He had similar if not the same looks as his older brother and was way more intelligent and cunning. He was way more charismatic too. He knew he could outsmart Zopyros anytime.

Moving another figure on the board he smiled flatly. He was planing to do just that.

His sister, Delilah, was a week and pathetic being in his eyes. Even if he had some respect for his older brother, for her he had non. She was following Zopyros around afraid of him, not able to stand on her own two feet even though she was 18 already. He hated weak women like her. His mother wasn't like that... no, she was strong. She tried to stop her oldest child from committing a sin such as killing your own family on her own. True, she had failed, but she had tried. His worthless sister on the other hand... Not that it mattered, she won't be there much longer.

Handsome and perspicacious, with eyes like two universes and hair colored by shadows he was charming and calculating every bit his older _ talented_ brother was, no, he was even better. Which was precisely the reason his dear brother decided to kill their father once he found out that the youngest child would be the one to inherit the throne.

Though, Daidalos sometimes wondered why didn't his brother kill him instead. He knew it wasn't for love or anything like it. Had he saw the potential his younger brother had? Was that way? Did he want to control him and all the potential he has?

It didn't matter. In the end, he would be the only player from his family left on the scene. In the end he would be the only one victorious. He would take back what his older brother dared to take away from him.

Taking the chess king into his hand he played with it turning it around smiling emptily. Yes, his older brother would soon learn why even with all the talents he had, he came second in race for the throne in their fathers eyes.

Diadalos got up from his seat and walked slowly towards the door.

"Where are you going?" His sister questioned.

Zopyros only watched him, eyes narrowed.

"It's boring. I'm going to take a walk." He answered impassively, walking out the room. How annoying.

Walking down the hallway he though if he should really go out for a walk. A quick glance trough the window told him it was sunny and warm. He might take a walk to their parents graves.

* * *

"I have it! I found the file!" Idris announced happily.

She run out of the room closely followed by the other three. They quickly entered one of the secret passageways and pointing with three lighted wands at the file watched closely as Idris slowly opened it.

Their eyes were quickly gliding over the text written in. From one page to another, from one mark to other. Each subject, each note hardly registered in their minds. Those things written in were impossible after all. No-one could have been on such level back in those days. It was hard to believe... and jet they had a person, same person, in their year, they knew it was true, even if Tom never really talked about his results on the tests more then a simple 'I am above average' followed with the cocky smile.

Yes. He was above average. Way above it, on a whole new level. A level that is 100 levels higher then the level they are on. According to school file that is. In reality he might be even higher than that.

"Unbelievable," Idris whispered to herself.

"Guess you aren't going to beat him in a single subject after all, huh?" Emma said looking over the test scores again.

"Honestly, I don't even know why are we this surprised. He did create a spell thanks to which he lives now and not back then when he was only fifteen," Laurentia tried to reason, taking a picture from the file she looked closely at it, "My, he really is drop-dead gorgeous. I think I'm in love with his fifteen-years-old self."

Idris took the picture from her and looked at it herself, Emma looked over her shoulder at picture too.

"He really is cute," Emma commented smiling at the picture.

"Emma this isn't cute, this is dangerously handsome," Idris corrected.

"And hot," Laurentia added.

Devlin watched them like all three girls had gone crazy. He wasn't in mood for listening all the girly talked. He had seen what he wanted. Turning he left without a single word. The girls hadn't even noticed.

Taking the picture back Laurenta raised it in the air, "He is going to be my boyfriend." She announced cheerfully.

"Like you would be the only one after him in a year or two." Idris commented.

"Hmph. He would still be mine," She informed her friends confidently. Opening her bag, she put the picture in it.

"We actually have to return that Laur." Emma reminded her.

"Please~! It's not like anybody would know. I'm keeping the picture, whatever you like it or not. Why don't you take one as well?"

"And have Tom find it. He would never let me live it down. I think I'll therefore pass."

"Suit yourself."

* * *

Morning sun was casting its rays trough a window.

Prometheus was still in bed. His older brother had demanded he rests until he was completely healed. Prometheus didn't see why then he still had to _rest_. The healers had done a great job fixing him up the minute he returned home. Pelagius really did have a tendency of over-reacting.

Sighing he looked out the window deep in thoughts.

He couldn't believe that mere children. Teens around his age, give or take a few years, were capable of defeating people he had with him. True, those people with him weren't exactly all that powerful and mighty, but they were no pushovers either.

He was on the level higher then those teens were. But besides him and his big brother, he couldn't count more that ten teens who were on the level those kids were on. They had powerful soldiers, but those were all adults.

_"What is Brother going to do about them?" _Pometheus wondered worriedly, _"I hope Euphemios would be able to help him somehow. Maybe Slytherin could take most powerful men from that kingdom out with big casualties on his part... that way both would be weekend greatly and we could overtake both. __How are you going to deal with them... _Brother..."

In the room next to Prometheus', Pelagius was laying wide awake. He hadn't slept all night as he hadn't slept and nights before since his brother returned. He was pondering over everything him dear younger brother informed him about. It bothered him greatly.

Why would such kingdom, especially when you find it's center, send kids to defend it? Why would they risk being defeated before the war was even in it's full loathed glory? Why not send experienced adults to get rid of the threat? Why send teens as obviously powerful as they were?

All those hidden kingdoms were existing behind the everyday world. They were fulling everyone pretending to be only legends. They were like invisible phantoms of the magic world. You can sense their presence now and then, but you can never see them.

So was that way? Were they pulling out another act? Were they sending powerful children to create the picture of the legend? To create the picture of non-existing power? To fool them to believe that they are so powerful that even their teens can over-power the adults of the other kingdom... or was it a truth? like a warning that they are far above your level...

Pelagius turned in his bed. He was going in circles. He had already thought about all those things. There was no reason to ponder over them again. He would just take it as a warning no matter if it was one or not. Better to overestimate your enemy then to underestimate him.

* * *

A light knock on the door was heard and an elder man closed the book he had been reading and called, "You may enter."

The door cracked open and a brown-haired man with few gray hairs entered, "Lord Salazar I have some news."

"Hmm? Anything particularly interesting or are you planing to bore me with stupid, irrelevant _information _again Urosh?"

"You'll find those information interesting I assure you."

"Really now? Let's hear what you have to say then," Slytherin said in an obviously uninterested voice.

"The girl that you ordered Tom to kill some time ago, she was from the castle under the control of Amandus family. As is Stump Din, the boy from Tom's year and your house."

"That _is_ interesting," Salazar admitted thoughtfully.

"Well, this would be even more. It looks like the boy isn't following orders from Zopyros, which we learned was the leader of the family, though he is only 20 something I think. No, the boy is following orders from someone else. Unfortunately we couldn't find out who was giving the orders."

"Is that so, Urosh? And how did you happen to find all of those information?"

"By questioning Din Stump himself. The boy had left the security of Hogwarts when we caught him."

"And yet you couldn't find who was giving him orders or anything other then what you told me..."

"No sir. We couldn't. There was something off about him when we caught him in the first place, but we didn't have time to question it further," Urosh said.

"Hmm..."

"What are your thought about this?" He questioned Salazar curiously.

"My thoughts? That we were manipulated in getting the information you now told me."

"So you don't think that we have been told the truth?"

"Oh, it is truth all right. The question is who would have given us such knowledge and why would he do it..."

"Maybe Tom Riddle knows something about the resent happenings," The brown-haired man suggested.

"Tom? I doubt he knows anything about this matter, but since I already intend to question the boy about some other things, I can add one more question to the list. Urosh, you may leave."

"Yes." The man bowed slightly before leaving the room.

_"Talk to Tom, huh? Oh, I will talk to that little brat. He does have a lot of explaining to do before I strangle him. Though, I have to admit that I'm proud that little underhanded rat is my heir. I will however have to set his loyalty commitment right. He really is a sly and devious bastard."_ Slytherin though, feeling pride, anger and irritation in the same time.

He would have to teach his arrogant heir not to play with those above him or he might lose his head. And it would be one painful lesson that he would never forget. Salazar would make sure of that.

* * *

**Author's note:** Well there it is, as I promised, a long chapter.

Tell me what you think. (oh, you don't have to remember _Urosh_ he _is not important character_, I just couldn't have an unnamed character in a long conversation thats all.)

Anyway Happy Easter to all of you (who celebrate it) and I hope you'll leave a comment or two (please)

Till the next chapter

Ciao, ciao ^.^

**_P.S._ I sill need BETA**


	45. Trouble, trouble

**45. Trouble, trouble**

"Morning." Devlin greeted sleepily as he set himself between Laurentia and Fabius, "What's for breakfast?"

"Nothing special." Idirs mumbled looking at her still empty plate, "I think I'll skip the breakfast."

She got up and left the Great hall.

"Is she alright?" Daisy questioned from her seat.

"She was perfectly fine last night." Laurentia answered, before adding in puzzled voice, "I wonder why she looks so down now."

"She is just disappointed, she would get over it eventually," Emma said quietly.

"Over what?" Fabius asked.

"I think she finally realized that she can't beat Tom in anything, and so..." Emma muttered her answer disappearing behind a Muggle book.

"Hmm..." Fabius glanced at Tom who had been ignoring the whole conversation so far, he still seemed fairly uninterested.

Dreamy voice quickly broke trough the tensed air, "Did you know that according to Greek mythology, humans were originally created with 4 arms, 4 legs and a head with two faces?"

"What?"

"Excuse me?"

"Huh?"

Everyone looked at the book covers behind which was Emma in confusion. What was she babbling about? Tom looked up in slight curiosity.

Emma continued in completely interested voice, "Then, fearing their power Zeus, the king of all gods, split them into two separate parts condemning them to spend their lives in search for their other halves."

Tom quickly read the name of the book in Emma's hands. It was a Muggle book about dinosaurs. So she was just random with the story.

"I wonder if I'll ever find my other half..." She whispered.

"If you ever cross the path with your _other half,_ he won't be able to miss you, nor you him. There are just as much people eccentric as you are," Tom informed her lightly.

She lowered her book and looked at him over the edges. Her big brown eyes glittering as if challenging him.

"You don't believe in everybody having that one person they just click together with. Nor do you appreciate love."

"I was trying to see the story from your point of view and give you the response I though would answer your question," Tom informed her uninterested.

Emma slowly closed her book and put it down. She leaned her head on one palm, "You are still wrong. Shouldn't my other half be my opposite? If I am a dreamer, he should be a person strongly relaying on logic and reality. Two opposites that create a whole being. Am I not right?"

Laurentia and Devlin exchanged looks. And Fabius narrowed his eyes looking at Tom. It was obvious that the dark-haired teen had the answer ready and was wondering if he should continue the debate or just let it go. Tom smirked. Continuing the argument it was.

"Philosophy of opposites attract? That might work for magnets, but for people? Won't they have to many differences between themselves to live together like that? Arguing all the time. Having different interests..."

"I never said that they should be completely different," Emma interrupted him, "Only that the personalities should be somewhat opposite. Interests should be more or less similar as well as intelligence. But imagine a couple, both stubborn, both unable to make a compromise, both with short temper, both extremely ambitious, neither capable of sacrificing... Not a good thing right?"

She was so sure that her arguments were flawless. Tom wanted to laugh. It was so easy to break her defense, he only had to say that the way she put it, one should be a masochist and other the sadist, and the relationship would be great. With a few other well placed arguments and her believes would shatter no matter how hard she tried to defend them. It would be fun to push her like that. But he was pleased with the growing confidence she showed when standing up for her convictions. Why break it right then and there?

"I would really _love_ to continue our little _talk_ some other time. But our class is starting soon and I have to go to the library before that. If you'll excuse me," he smiled sweetly a devilish glint playing in his eyes.

Leaving the Great hall his smile transformed into a fleer. From the conversation Emma tried to distract everyone from, it was obvious that they somehow got their hands on his school file. As for Emma's believes and assumptions, he would have fun destroying them another time.

Emma was still looking after Tom who was no longer in their sight. She was sure that Tom didn't have a single class more than she did. They both ditched Care of magical creatures for good, and neither was going to Divinations or Muggle studies. And there were no other classes that could be different in their schedule. And since she didn't have the first class neither did Tom.

_"We have next class...hell we do! He just used that excuse to go somewhere. What is he up to this time? I wonder if either of the siblings knows..."_

It turned out that Tom didn't show up on the first class the two did have, Magical Theory. Though headmistress McGonagall had showed up before class to tell something to their professor. Emma had a tickling feeling that it was about Tom. She was worried. And she wasn't the only one. Idris was practically jumping up and down in her sit trying to see over all the heads if the door maybe opened, if Tom sneaked in. Neither of the girls had any idea where he could have disappeared.

* * *

Tom was sitting on a snake statue in Chamber of Secrets anxiously waiting, though no such feeling was showed on his face, nor did his body language reveal anything. Beside a slightly tensed muscles, he would looked relaxed and calm to any outsider.

That was anything but the truth. After he left the Great hall that morning his day went down the hill.

Flash back

Tom exited the library with a book in his hands, quickly leafing trough the old pages. He was looking for a certain potion recipe.

"I must say you haven't changed one bit since the last time we talked Tom."

Tom ignored the voice at first since he was sure he saw the name of the potion he needed and leafed trough the pages again. Yes, there it was. Opening the page he wanted and not looking up from the book he said, "I was hoping I won't have to hear your voice again, guess I was hoping for to much. You did say you were _watching_ me."

His voice was sneering. Though it held a hint of irritation as well.

"I have taken some time to ponder over what you did to be alive now," The portrait of Albus Dumbledore told him.

"Had any luck?" Tom mocked, his eyes still firmly on the black lines on the old yellow page. He was already half way trough it.

"No," Dumbledore admitted, "I was hoping you could save us both the trouble and tell me what you did and what you are up to now."

"Ain't gonna happen," Tom said, turning the next page, "Actually, I don't even know why you are still trying to figure the mystery out. It's obvious you have no idea where to even start."

"Oh, I have a few ideas," the portrait informed him.

"Hooray!" Tom said sarcastically.

Dumbledore ignored him and continued, "But all of them have big holes. Unfortunately I am not here to discuss what you did..."

"I am terribly disappointed," Tom muttered to himself snidely.

"...I am here to tell you that Headmistress wants you to come to her office. The password is bravery."

"Ugh, how originally Gryffindor."

Tom closed the book and putting it in his backpack quickly walked in the next hallway and towards the headmistress' office.

His first though when he entered the office was surprise, surprise. And it was. An unpleasant one that is. Cause right there in that office with McGonagall was no-one other then Harry Potter himself. Tom had to refrain from sighing. Just what did they thought he was going to do when he saw _the-boy-who-lived_? Get scared? Freak out?

He could feel the blue piercing gaze of Albus Dumbledore on him, as well as the eyes of all other former headmasters of Hogwarts. Headmistress quickly excused herself and he was left facing the curious green eyes of the _famous _Potter.

(end of flashback)

A sudden swirl of air and electricity brought Tom back from his reflecting of the passing day. The person because of who his day only went from bad to worse had just arrived.

Tom visibly tensed as he watched the figure of Salazar Slytherin appear. He had the air of danger around himself like a cloak, it was obvious that he was in a terrible mood. The teen hardly succeeded in stopping the shiver. Worse had just went beyond the worst and back twice.

Looking at the statue behind which he knew Agrona was hiding, he quaered how the normal life looked like. Well, no point to feel sorry over not having it. He loved knowing he was a prodigy and sooner or later (though it looker like it's gonna be later) he would be too powerful for even his respected ancestor.

Sighing he looked at the ancient face that was clearly demanding answers without a single question being asked. No doubt Slytherin was sure Tom knew exactly why he was so furious with him, which wasn't far from the truth. Tom had a really good guess why his ancestor was angry. he was only trying to decide if telling the truth would be worth anything or would within an inch of death his life be squeezed out of him even if he gives away some information.

He really got himself in huge trouble this time around, both with Harry Potter and Salazar Slytherin.

_"How am I going to dig myself out of this mess?"_

* * *

**Author's note:** ^.^' Yeah, author's note already... Sorry. =S

Sorry for a short chapter guys. But I have only _4 more weeks of school_ so I really _need to sit and study_ and _my University entrance exam in nearing too_. I can't promise that next chapter would be any longer either. Sorry. =(

Got to important exams the coming week. T.T Wish me luck.

Till the next chapter,

Ciao, ciao


	46. Not exactly perfidy

**46. Not**** exactly** perfidy

"He is spacing out again," Artemisa said worriedly, looking up from Tom's arm she had been healing to his face. His unfocused dark eyes were looking through her like she wasn't even there, "Edwen!"

"I don't know what to do about that Misa. Obviously whoever was that hurt him, barely hurt him physically but mentally destroyed him."

"Can't you do anything about that?"

"No. I wish I could, but my healing powers aren't that developed yet. Mind healing is completely different from body healing, you know that," Edwen admitted.

Artemisa sighed, "I'm done. His arm is healed."

"Do you think we should call someone to help him?" Her brother asked while watching the dark-haired boy sitting on the sofa.

"I don't think he would agree with us calling anybody for help. In the barely concuss state he was when he called us it was obvious he doesn't want anybody else to know what happened...still..."

The siblings looked at their once-adopted-brother worriedly. They had been informed of Sirius' real identity and that Tom would no longer be considered a part of their family some time ago, but they were still sad about it. And scared. Scared that Tom won't consider them his family anymore, not that Tom ever acted towards them like close family, more like dear, close cousins. But they were afraid of losing that, especially since Tom, from now on, has new siblings. Twins at that.

So for the last year, to be honest, ever since they started feeling that they were somehow losing him, Artemisa and Edwen were trying to do everything they thought would pleas him. They were trying to always be available when he needed them. They wanted him to never forget them, to know that they are always there for him, whenever he needed them.

And now, when he was officially not a part of their family and would be having new siblings, the two were even more scared of being replaced.

They knew Tom. They knew that while at this moment he seems to care about them, the next he might forget about them. He just had a fluid personality like that and was capable of swift changes.

"What should we do?" Artemisa whispered.

"Call Sirius... I mean Alkaios, I need to get used to that name."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm not Misa. I'm not," Edwen muttered, "But what else can we do? We can't fix which ever problem in his head is that is making him look like a soulless shell. This would be the best for him even if he doesn't want anybody to know something happened."

Artemisa nodded and with a wave of her hand the talk-net mirror was in her hand.

"I don't thing Alkaios has one," Edwen informed her.

She just waved at him dismissively and turn to the mirror, "Esoptron epideiknumi, sullale Alkaios Alexandros."

"You could have wished for a bigger mirror for that spell," Edwen mumbled.

"It's easier this way."

"Artemisa? What did Tom do this time?" A voices asked from the mirror with a sigh.

Edwen and Arteamisa exchanged looks. Was it so obvious that they are calling because of Tom? Then again what other reason would the two of them have to call their king, leader, lord or whatever else you want to call him.

"Kind of..." The boy said as he came next to his sister to see Alkaios face in the mirror.

Another sigh from the man, "Put the mirror on the ground please and step aside."

They did as they were told and heard a whisper too soft for them to make out what was being said. The next second Alkiaos was standing in front of them. For a moment before he noticed Tom and ran towards him.

"What happened?" He questioned, while examining Tom.

"We don't know. He just called us over talk-net mirror and said he needed help. We came here and he was already unconscious and hurt. We healed him and tried to wake him up, but besides seconds when he seemed to be aware of his surroundings he was mostly like that," Edwen explained.

"I see... and you have no idea what could have caused this?"

Both kids shook their head.

"It looks like he was mentally attacked. Someone had done a great job in making him suffer like this."

"If someone was powerful enough to destroy him mentally, why use physical force as well?" Edwen asked.

"Why? My guess is to weaken his defense walls. The boy is really talented in mind related spells. Both in attacking others and defending himself. It is possible that the other party knew that and decided to weaken him by breaking his concentration with physical pain." Alkaios explained frowning.

_"But that someone has to be extraordinary talented as well to be able to do such damage to strong and well organised mind like Tom's. And I have a good guess who it was." _Alkaios continued his thoughts.

Placing his palm over Tom's forehead, he started chanting something in quick strong voice. The chant was in some ancient language and siblings could understand only tenth part of the whole spell. They knew however that that was the ancient language even now used to create most powerful healing spells. Edwen had so far learn maybe 11 spells on this language, Artemisa knew only 3. But even that much was considered advanced for their age.

They watched closely as Alkaios slowly removed his hand from Tom as Tom's dark eyes slowly started to focus on thing around him. His eyes finally stopped on Alkaios before flashing an angry glare in the direction of the siblings. Alkaos looked at the as well.

"You did the right thing," he told them, knowing fully well that they were doubting their decision because of Tom's reaction, "He wouldn't have dragged himself out of his own head without help."

Tom huffed. And Alkaios looked at him.

"Now I would like you mister to tell me exactly what happened," he demanded.

"Nothing."

"Tom." Short warning was all that left Alkaios lips at his protege's impolite tone.

He knew that it was best to be patient when dealing with the dark-eyed boy, but he wasn't in the mood for his arrogance at that time.

Tom looked at him, before looking at the siblings, as if asking what are they still doing there.

"They'll stay," Alkaios stated clearly leaving no room for arguments, "They just run from their beds here in the middle of the night to heal you. They deserve to know."

Tom frowned slightly. He didn't agree. Then shrugged like it made no difference to him whatever they stay there or not.

"Salazar thought I need a little lesson of loyalties. He feels that I am not grateful enough to him, since he was the one who thought me how to use my true powers."

"Salazar?" Artemisa repeated in confusion.

"Salazar Slytherin. As if one of the founders of Hogwarts," Alkaion explained, "He used to leave on the island you two are from, but betrayed us. And unluckily for all of us that slime bastard is still alive."

Siblings were looking at them with their mouths slightly ajar, in utter disbelief.

Tom and Alkaios turned back to each other.

"So what did he want?"

"He somehow figured out some rather important things about the island which is disturbing. I thought you excused all of his followers," Tom said in accusing tone.

"I did. It is possible he somehow sneaked in himself. Not likely, but possible."

"Well anyway he now knows you are still alive and in control of whole island," Tom said uninterested.

"And let me guess he said you either tell him willingly or something terrible might happen to you, and you decided to sell my name out."

"Selling you out obviously didn't help me much, since I still ended up in the state of complete disorder and mental torture. Besides I'm sure you can take care of yourself."

Tom's nonchalant tone cut trough Edwen like a knife, "How could you have done that? You betrayed your guardian."

His voice was full of innocent refusal to believe what he just heard. Artemisa was also looking at him in incredulity and, was that disappointment also in her eyes.

"I'm actually glad I'm not in Slytherin," Tom could hear her soft voice.

"I highly doubt Salazar would target you because you are in his house," Tom told her lightly.

Her aquamarine eyes met his, "He is not the reason. You are. I never thought you could just give such important information to the enemy."

Tom's calculated eyes looked her once up and down, "I guess Sorting hat was right for putting you in Gryffindor. After all Gryffindors are nothing more than wannabe Slytherins, and you are just one of them. You'll have to understand that, no matter how much you mean to me, I'm not capable of any sacrifices, and I never will be. I no nothing of honor and bravery, nor do I care about such things."

Edwen looked sideways to his little sister. Tom was right, they should have known that by now. He was an egocentric person to the core. But they also knew that he cared for them. They knew he would be there to help them in the middle of the night if they asked as long as they don't ask for too much.

"We will be leaving," he announced with a small bow in Alkaios direction. Taking his sisters hand he started to drag her out, then suddenly remembering something he turned to face Tom again, "I know I should feel betrayed for what you did, and I am somewhat afraid of what you could do next. But I know you would never sell us out completely and will always leave the air for a maneuver or two that could lead us back to the surface and into the game. So please think about others for once and play whichever cards you are holding carefully."

With that he left the room together with really irritated and disappointed Artamisa. In the room Alkaios sighed. He knew it would come to this sooner or later. That was why he had adopted the twins. Tom needed someone like him by his side, someone who is not held down by morals like the Grays were.

"Have you told that eel anything else?"

"A few _less_ important things... like the existence of Protectors, but he seemed to have know that already." Tom said lazily.

"If I remember correctly, and I think I do, you already had a conversation with him about Protectors once. What else that he didn't know have you told him?"

"Not much."

"You do know that if anything like this happens again, you won't be capable of becoming my heir. Others would refuse to have such a traitor for their future lord."

"I think I'll be just fine considering they have such a liar and secret-keeper for their king now," Tom said mockingly.

Alkaios eyes darkened, "You are obviously forgetting that am as powerful as Salazar is, Tom. You don't want to cross me ever again."

"And you have forgotten the promise I gave you. So let me repeat it. I will find out why my powers were looked until Salazar Slytherin decided to remove the seal that was keeping them at bay, and I'll figure out why it was some old protector that encountered me in your place if you had already decided to let me live in the Court. I know you can answer both of those things, and I don't see why are you so set in making me search for the answers. We both know I'll find the information I'm looking for eventually."

Alkaios didn't say anything. He just stood up and walked towards the mirror, "Try not to do anything stupid before the ceremony of you becoming my hair is completed. _Even_ you should be able to stay out of trouble that long."

"That might be impossible for me after all. See, I had an interesting conversation with Harry Potter earlier this day."

"I'll take care of whatever mess you created for him to get evolved, _if_ you make sure that no more Dark magic books are sent to you while you are here."

Tom nodded. He wasn't sure if he should be surprised that Alkaios knows about Dark magic library he and Stefan had found or not. But Alkaios knowing that Tom was reading Dark magic books and not stopping him was defiantly unexpected.

Then again so were Artemisa's high moral standards. He always new that Edwen was a Rawenclav from head to toe, but he though that Artemisa was more for Slytherin then Gryffindor. Guess Sorting hat did place her in the right house after all. Does that mean the little mud-blood princess was in the right house as well? It sure was hard to believe.

Leaving the Room of Requirement Tom wondered how was Alkaios going to solve the problem named Harry Potter and the rest of annoying buggers. He guessed he could have served the _famous, _stupid, curious, trusting, second-chance giving, humdrum Potter a good story, or the truth, but he wasn't in the mood for either. Both would require him actually paying attention to the _hero_, and what he thought about Tom, and the dark-haired teen just didn't care.

Ministry can't do anything to him anyway now that he has a powerful island behind him. They can do noting more then be an irritating group of flies. So they weren't worth his attention.

Salazar Slytherin on the other hand was proving to be bigger problem that Tom had previously thought. And the mental damage he could do, that was seriously something to look out for.

Tom looked out a window. This war. It was going to be a much bigger thing then anything Tom had ever witnessed. He felt like a kid playing the grown ups' game sometimes. Lost on what to do. He wasn't used to such feelings, and he was dead set on learning all the maneuver and tactic that could help him win. Until then he would just do what he does best. Slide from one master to another. Change personalities and then discard them, all the time hiding his true face behind a mocking, arrogant mask with unrivaled confidence.

_"The stars are bright tonight. So beautiful... it's really quiet at this hour... I like it... And in the same time I feel like talking to someone... I wonder if Emma is somewhere leaning on the window and watching the stars with those big Bambi-eyes of hers."_

Remembering their argument from that morning, Tom smiled slightly and looked around himself. It really was a perfect night for a little walk around school hallways. He hasn't done that in a while. If he runs into little weirdo, that could just be considered a bonus. Another thing to take of his mind from everything that's happening.

Walking trough the hallways like a shadow, he slowly relaxed. He really did miss the mindless wandering around his once favorite place on Earth.

* * *

**Author's note: **nothing much to say... I was reading the first hunger game (got addicted, need to read the other two), was on pottermore. Come on Slytherin! I can't believe you let Gryffindor take the lead? Since when are they on our level?

And I went trough first 4 chapters and somewhat corrected them. I'm planing to go trough the rest of them soon. (Le me was supposed to study)... and I had a writers block for the first time in my life! which is why I went trough old chapters instead of spending more time on new one T.T

Anyway, hope you enjoyed this one.

Till the next one,

ciao, ciao... *mumbling to myself* really should sit and study, really, really should...


	47. Friends

**47.** **Friends**

_In the semi darkness a pale, black-haired boy around five was standing between two mirrors. His emerald eyes were glittering. He was staring in the reflection in wonder._  
_One mirror would reflect him, while the other would reproduce the mirror and him. The first mirror would reflect this back, while the second mirror did the same, and so on until he had split into infinite imitations._

_The boy touched the glass, it felt cold under his fingers. Looking into the deeps of the eyes of his reflection, he noticed that there was something there. Something that triggered a feeling of emptiness inside him. It was like the light in the eyes of his mirror image was dying out._  
_Tom tried to figure it out. What was the feeling building inside him?_

_He looked from one mirror to the other. No matter how many times his image was reproduced, he was the only one in that room. If the lights were turned off, he would still be able to feel himself, and realize that as the only fact. Even if he wanted to escape and run into the parallel world in which he saw himself, he would only run into cold, hard glass. He couldn't get to the other side of the mirror, he would stay alone._

_He whispered softly to himself, "Nightmares you can wake up from. Reality you cannot."_

Loneliness. That was the name of the feeling that woke him up.

Staring at the shadows of the silent dormitory Tom tried to collect his thoughts.

A week. A week had passed since Salazar had invaded his mind and he still hadn't made a full recovery. He was starting to fear that it would take him months to recover from the attack.

He noticed the first night after Alkaios had healed him that something wasn't quiet right, but he hadn't told his suspicions to anybody. The problem was that even though he used Occlumency, he still had nightmares. But those weren't just ordinary nightmares, he didn't dream of blood, monsters or falling, no, he dreamed of other things.

His nightmares were different. His dreams forced him to feel things like compassion, sorrow, loneliness. Those dreams were trying to affect his psychological patterns. He knew himself well enough to know that those feelings, especially with the intensity they had, couldn't possibly be his. However, he was also aware that they were getting to him nevertheless.

Tom knew that with enough time he could trow such feelings out, that he could blocked them. He just needed time. And while he was fighting to return to who he is, he needed all the things that could trigger those emotions down to the minimum.

He could guess why Slytherin had done it, the effects would be great, having harder time to keep a cool head in difficult situations, being concerned for others well-being, wanting to protect, to socialize, etcetera. And that all pretty much explains itself. Not that it would work in desired way, but it was a good plan nonetheless.

What worried him the most however was not knowing what Slytherin had done to him, but how the old made had done it. Not even his astonishing Occlumency talents could stop the dreams, or the after effects of those dreams. It wasn't like the those dreams suddenly turned him inside out or anything, he was still himself. But Tom was worried. With enough of brainwashing whit those nightmares and he wouldn't be Tom Riddle for much longer.

"How had Salazar done it?" He whispered into the blackness on the room.

Turning in his bed he wondered if he should wake Fabius up and talk to him, maybe he could gave him some idea. He decided against it. Tom didn't know why, but he just didn't feel like telling Fabius about anything. Nor the siblings for that matter.

Actually, when he thought about it, he wasn't going to tell it to anybody.

He was still going to wake somebody up tonight though. He couldn't sleep and was feeling like having company. So who should he wake up?

Din and Daisy are out of question for the obvious reasons. As was Devlin, the spoiled Melfoy couldn't miss his beauty sleep even if the school was burning. And Idris wasn't the best night company either, she can be rather cranky late at night.

Looks like he was going to wake Fabius up after all.

... or maybe Laurentia.

_"Hmm... now there's a thought."_

Getting silently out of his bed and slipping out of the dorm, Tom easily sneaked in the girls room chuckling. The protection the founders put was such a joke. He made a step towards the bed of the sleeping girl but changed his mind at once. Instead he went to the bed of the sleeping curly-haired girl.

_"The little mud-blood is normally the one with the friendship fairy tales. She might as well back them up with some actions."_

A wicked smile playing on his lips Tom positioned himself next to Emma and casted two spells in a smooth wave of him wand.

The girl quickly woke up with a yelp.

She looked around with her sleepy eyes until her gaze stopped on Tom's figure.

Light of understanding followed by anger quickly flashed trough her eyes and settled on the sleepy indifference.

"I don't care, don't tell me," she whispered.

"What? I'm hurt. I thought you were my friend," Tom complained trying to sound as sad and disappointed as possible.

"Exactly, _was_. Pass tense. You waking me up in the middle of the night was a big mistake that costed you my friendship."

Tom laughed in a low voice, "Don't be so sulky Emma."

"I'm not. I just don't appreciate being woken up at this time whit some strange... what did you exactly use to wake me up?"

"Little something," Tom said smiling, "You mentioned you needed help in runes,_ again_. So I decided to wake you up and help you."

"How were generous of you," Emma whispered while taking the clock from her nightstand and shoving it in Tom's face, "There couldn't have possibly be better time to help you house mate out that this time, could it?"

"No, not really," Tom said taking a step back and trying to keep his smile. He should have woken up Laurentia after all.

Emma stared at him.

"I have already finished my homework," She announced, "But I'll keep you company since you obviously can't sleep. You had a nightmare, didn't you?"

Tom blinked. Guess, there wasn't any logical lie he could use for being awake that Emma would buy.

_"Pity. It would do her some good to at least play stupid from time to time,"_ Tom thought, before remembering that most of Hogwarts students actually see her as average, and quite normal (even those who saw her wired moments).

They went to the common room in silence. Tom took a seat next to the fire while Emma took the one closer to the big window looking at the lake. The room was empty aside from them two.

"Do you want to tell me what your dream was about?"

"No."

She looked out. The lake was to dark for her to see anything.

"Then we will need something else to talk about, or I'll fall asleep."

"Do you need any help with homework?" Tom questioned.

"No. I already finished everything. It wasn't that hard actually. I just felt like not doing it, or making you or Idris help me to save time," Emma said smiling.

Silence fell on them. It was the same one that had occasionally showed up during the time she was teaching Tom to play piano. It was rather comfortable, but there was the little awkwardness there to spice things up.

Looking at Tom's pale face Emma frowned. He looked even more tired then two days ago. Though, she was always under the impression that the teen in front of her didn't need much sleep, now he looked like he was missing even those few hours he needed.

Tom noticed that she was staring at him and raised one brow inquiringly.

"You look tired."

Turning his eyes back to the fire he shrugged.

The silence dragged between, not as comfortable as before. It was obvious that Tom had already lost himself in his thought and wasn't planing to answer her. Emma though about just getting up and leaving. Still, she knew Tom enough to know that he wouldn't have woken anyone up yo keep him company if whatever dream he had hadn't seriously distressed him.

He was like that. Keeping to himself. Always standing alone, fighting for what he wanted and against his fears without anyone by his side. So what brought this up? Why did he suddenly needed company? Especially after something he considered a weakness...

More importantly, why had he chosen to wake her up? Why her? Did that mean that he really considers her his friend?

Looking back at the black water Emma thought about it for a while. It was true that they were somewhat closer then the others. Why was that?

Their opinions on things and their perspective clashed almost all the time. They grow up in completely separated worlds. There weren't many similarities between them. It was like they were each other opposites. Not fully, no. She wasn't as naive and angelic as everyone thought her to be, and Tom wasn't the embodiment of devil. But still, they were different from each other in so many ways.

Maybe it was their unique was of thinking that bonded them together. They both had developed their own philosophy of life. And they were capable of following each others thinking process, capable of understanding each others opinions even when others were at the lose of what to think.

Was that it then? Was that what brought them to this level of friendship? The way they think and act? It might be.

"I was thinking, the way that Muggle schooling system works for students like you who can't go to classes is rather interesting," Tom stated.

Emma looked at him. It was weird for him to break the silence.

"I guess it is," she admitted, "You can practically choose which subject you want to study and when you want to have your exams."

"So you could for example do four years of biology in one go?"

Emma just nodded.

"Hmm... How do you get the certificate that you finished the school then?"

"You have a certain number of subjects you have to take to be able to have a chance of getting the certificate. You can finish the school in one year if you are so good, or it can take you up to 5 years per level of education. One year more then normal schooling system. And you need to have rather high average mark of all the exams to be be able to advance on the upper education levels. This way of educating is rather new, it exists for only about 10 years now. Though it became popular only 5 years ago," Emma explained.

"If they started that using that system 10 years ago... that was year 2025, no? Does that mean is't accepted widely by Muggles now?"

"It is. Though it's quiet expansive way of studying since only some private schools have this way of education. Normally only children who travel a lot, either because of sports or some other hobby-career, choose to study this way. ...and some spoiled, snobbish kids as well. Why are you so interested in it?"

"I already mentioned it once. I plan to finish Muggle school," Tom said casually.

"I remember you saying something like that when you visited last summer. I just never thought you were serious. Why would _you _want to finish Muggle school? Besides would you really have time to study muggle stuff on top of everything you are already doing?"

"You should know by now that I love to know everything," Tom informed her, "and Muggles had made an fascinating development with Internet and phones and all that other stuff. Not to mention that some of the Muggle theories can be quiet useful in magic world as well. As for how I would study _everything,_ you are forgetting that I already have the elementary Muggle knowledge, and have been on Hogwarts as well. And while Muggle subjects would take some studying, I already know almost everything we are studying as Hogwarts. I have to say that it is somewhat disappointing how little progress wizards have made over the years."

"There are many new things in wizard world that we just don't study. Not to mention all the new developments like talk-net mirrors. And don't you have wandless magic to practice as well?"

"I think I'll be able to keep up with everything somehow," Tom was with a fake unsure voice and worried expression.

Emma laughed, "I envy you."

"I know," Tom said smiling.

"You are an arrogant bastard, do you know that as well?"

"That's the first time I heard someone saying something like that about me."

"You mean it's the first time someone says it to your face," Emma said seriously.

"Yeah, that would be what I meant."

"Am I brave or what?"

"So brave that you should be in Gryffindor. So what are you doing here?" Tom asked in confusion.

"Offended! I'm offended!"

Laughing rung trough the room.

"I missed this," Emma suddenly said.

"Miss what?"

"This. Just talking. Having fun. I have a feeling like I'm spending less and less time with you with every passing day. We used to talk a lot more before. You loved to crash all of my believes, didn't you?"

Tom smiled at her, "I'm sure you wanted to say we used to argue a lot more. What we were doing can hardly be considered talking. And yes, destroying some of your assurances was fun. You were wrong anyway."

"I wasn't. And we used to _discuss_ different things a lot more before."

"Once again, it was more like arguing, considering how stubbornly we both refused to accept the others opinion on literary everything. Though, you were always lacking confidence to actually defend your thoughts and ideas."

"It was still enjoyable. And I think I'm more confident now. Not to mention that I was and still am correct about everything I stand for."

"How about a new _discussion_ then?" Tom asked, "Muggle or wizard?"

"Muggle. Philosophy. Philosophers David Hume, John Locke and George Berkeley."

"Let me guess, one of the subject you are taking this year is philosophy. Isn't it too early? You are only thirteen and I doubt you understand half of their theories," Tom said.

"So you know their theories?" Emma asked surprised.

"Philosophy books were one of the rare interesting ones I could get my hands on while I lived in orphanage."

"Weren't you too young to understand them?" Emma repeated his question teasingly, "But to answer your questions first. I only briefly went over their theories since I want to take philosophy in a year or two. it's not exactly easy to understand. I was just hoping that you wouldn't know anything about them which meant I knew more then you did, and would therefore have a better starting point and more chances of convincing you that I'm correct. Unfortunately you are an annoying knew-it-all."

"Cheating? How very Slytherin of you."

Emma just rolled her eyes to the ceiling before saying, "I learned from the best."

"Oh, I know I'm the best, but thank you. Which exams did you take so far?" Tom questioned.

"Lets see... The good thing about finishing the school the way I do is that you have no homework. It takes less of your time and I started my education earlier. I am finishing the third year of secondary education this winter break. And I'll be finishing the fourth year in august."

Tom tried to remember everything he knew about educational system Emma was studying under.

"So you'll be three years ahead of your generation," he was taken aback by this new information, "That's amazing Emma."

"I work hard. Which is why my Hogwarts marks suffer. But I'm trying to finish Muggle school before the wizard exams on fifth year. Besides my marks wouldn't be nearly as great if professors who are there for the exams weren't so soft. I mean it happens a lot that you can't remember something because you study the whole book at once. Like on the university. So they tend to overlook if you don't know some specifics. Kids who go to school normally have to study all of that for their exams. Not to mention I started school a early and finished last two years of elementary school at the same time."

Tom nodded absently. He still thought it was amazing. She was three years ahead of her generation, playing a piano, studying two languages (though she complained that she was terrible) and keeping up with her Hogwarts studies. Her marks at Hogwarts weren't exactly outstanding, they were lower the those Idris and Fabius had, more like Laurentias and Devlins, but she was good. She read a lot, and knew a great deal about magic for a Muggle-born.

Though, Tom had long ago noticed that she was never prepared for the class like she obviously could have been. She rarely knew beforehand about the things they studied in classes. It happened from time to time that she had read somewhere about the subject, but that was it. Which was way she never really earned much points. She was probably earning the least points among the Slytherin third-years. Not that anyone cared as long as she kept her marks at the higher level, which she did.

"I still think it's quiet amazing."

"It sound weird when you say it," Emma commented, "Besides you still outshine me."

Tom just smiled at her, "I'm not exactly the right person for you to compare against, having extraordinary memory and high intelligence. You should know that."

"I have to admit, if you haven't started teaching us wandless magic I would be falling behind in magical studies. The better I get with that, the easier is to preform even complicated spells with wand. Though, I'm still confused about something. Can every wizard do wandless magic or not?"

"They can all do it. But not everybody is capable of controlling it, and even less are capable of using powerful and complicated spells. But it's mostly about practice."

Emma got up and stretched.

"Well, you look better. Can we go back to bed now?"

"Good night."

Looking slightly worried Emma took a seat next to Tom and looked at his face, "You don't plan to return to bed tonight, am I right? You can tell me what your dream was. I won't tell anyone. You can trust me."

"I don't think trusting is one of my virtuous."

"I don't think you have any virtuous to begin with," Emma said trying to smile.

Silence. Smile disappearing from her face Emma tried to catch Tom's eyes.

"You don't have to tell me if don't want to. But I am your friend Tom and you should know that you can trust me..."

She looked at the ground as if in thought. Looking back at the teen besides her she hugged him. She could feel Tom tense, but Emma didn't let go for a few more seconds. When she did she staid where she was next to Tom and watched the fire slowly fades away until she fell asleep.

* * *

Next morning Emma woke up slightly disorientated in her own bed in girls dormitory. All the other girls had already went to breakfast. Getting up in the sitting position she looked at the door. She couldn't remember when exactly she had fallen asleep last night, but she was sure that she had been in the common room when that happened.

It was oddly thoughtful of Tom to return her here without waking her up. Even though the chances are he put her in unconscious state and telephoner her back to bed somehow. Thinking how that would be more like him, Emma tried to image how could he have gone around the magic barrier that protected Hogwarts from such things.

Smiling gently, she walked towards the Great hall on her own.

"Good morning," She greeted, taking a seat next to the emerald-eyed teen.

"You got up late today and you look tired. Are you feeling sick?" Devlin asked in concern voice.

"I'm fine. Tom here are some classic piano books for you."

"Hmm?"

"It's help you relax," she whispered to Tom.

"Piano book? Come to think of it, you stopped teaching him hoe to play it last year didn't you? I'm sure that normally you need more time then that," Idirs commented.

"You do. But I'm not a professional pianist or anything, and there is only as much as I can teach him. Besides most important thing is practice. Not to mention Tom is incredibly boring to teach. He picks up everything too quickly. And while it's stunning too see just how fast he can learn things, after a few times it gets boring. There is no sense of accomplishment for teaching him anything, you just know he'll successfully learn everything anyway."

"You're probably the only person in world who complains about having a perfect student," Tom informed her smiling.

"Sorry but it's the truth."

Taking the piece of paper from her Muggle notebook Emma wrote down, **If it really is possible to control emotions with music the way you did mine with that music box, try to find a relaxing song and play it while using your magic to relax yourself when everything else fails to distract you from your worries.**

Tom took her pen and wrote back, **_Pink pen? For real? Pink? Why do you think I need a distraction?_**

**Because you are that kind of person who is always calm and collected. And while you are capable of acting every emotion perfectly, you have trouble dealing with the real ones 'cause you are not used to them.**

**_And you call me an annoying knew-it-all?_**

**(^.^) You are.**

"Hey! What are you to doing?" Devlin questioned trying to see what they have been writing down. But the paper burned out before he could.

Emma slapped Tom's hand.

"You could have burned my whole notebook idiot!"

Tom just smiled at her and got up. While passing next to Devlin he whispered, "Don't worry Melfoy, I'm not gonna steal your _girlfriend._"

"I don't like Emma like that!" Devlin yelled after him.

Fabius, Laurentia and Idris started laughing out loud causing half of the table to turn and look at them. Emma's face was bright red and she quickly disappeared behind one of her Muggle books.

Devlin's pale face was turning red as well.

"Ah! I knew Tom would take my place if I let Emma alone even for a bit, but I never thought Melfoy would be my competition for attention of our lovely Muggle princess."

Emma put her book down and quickly turned to see the familiar face of Terry Fudge.

"Terry? I thought you were finishing your fourth year in some school in Asia," Emma said in disbelief.

"I was supposed to. But mum didn't really like living in China, because she didn't know the language and everything so the two of us returned. My older brother and Father are still there. Besides it was so hard being away from you that I couldn't stay away form much longer."

Emma laughed, "Yeah, I missed you too."

No-one payed much attention to the two besides Devlin. Idris and Laurentia had long ago realized that Terry flirted with all the girls all the time. Although, Terry had always been acting more like Emma's older brother then anything else if you count out some flirtatious remarks that he seemed unaware that he was saying. Fabuis found Devlin's reaction far more interesting then the usual exchange between the two.

* * *

Din was leaning on the wall and as Tom passed him he called after the teen, "You and Emma are getting closer day by day. A chain is only strong as it's weakest link, you should be aware of that Tom. And Emma just became the weakest link in your chain. You are losing yourself."

Tom didn't even bother turning as he answered, "Why don't say you finally figured it out?"

His voice was surprised and impressed as he said it, but faded to cold and uncaring as he continued, "Wait...! I actually have no idea what chain you are talking about. 'Cause in the only one i can think of, she isn't the weakest link."

"I'm not talking about your little training group. There Melfoy would be the one easiest to take out. I'm talking about your _friends._ People who somewhat know you. And compared to Fabius, Edwen and Artemisa, Mud-blood is like a children's play to take out. Correct me if I'm wrong."

Tom finally turned to face the brown-haired teen. His lips were forced into an icy smile, his eyes deadly, violent.

His voice when he spoke however was as soft as silk, "Obviously you need a reminder. Daisy would probably do just fine to show you the differences between the two of us. What incident school won't suspect?"

Din didn't dare answer. Something told him that what Tom just said wasn't an empty threat. By trying to scare Tom for the second time since the school started and therefore openly presenting himself as Tom's enemy, he had put his closes and probably only friend in danger.

Tom's eyes twinkled happily as he was fear in the eyes of his house mate. But he wasn't going to stop on that like he did last time.

Maybe because he was afraid that those dreams are starting to affect him, maybe because Din's suggestion that having friends was making him different, or maybe because he just didn't change at all and was still the ruthless kid that had grow up in the orphanage, but only two hours later Daisy Wenlock was brought to the hospital and won't be leaving it till the winter break starts, when she would be sent home but would be instructed to keep resting.


	48. No rest for the wicked

**48. No rest for the wicked**

_"Only one more week and holiday. Or in my case muggle tests. God, that last thingies in math are scary. I don't understand them. I would need to have some private classes before the finals when I return home. Or maybe Tom could help me. No, he probably didn't study those back in the orphanage. It's been sometime now and Daisy is still not allowed to leave the hospital. Maybe I should go and visit. No. I'm sure Tom did something to her. I'm Tom's friend, not hers. Though, I should have probably talked to him about it. Fabius didn't visit her either. Poor Din he is so worried about her. And it would be poor me if I don't finish the transfiguration homework in time. Should have made Tom help me. Or Terry maybe. It's so good that he is back. I wonder if there is any interesting book about schools in Asia. I should head for the library. I seriously need to sit and study..."_

"Good morning Miss Rynolds."

Hearing her last name being called, Emma quickly scanned the portraits surrounding her.

"Profesor Dumbledore! Good morning sir."

"How is Slytherin treating you lately?"

"Oh, everything is great."

"I'm glad to hear that. Though, it couldn't escape my notice that you and Tom Riddle are becoming close friends. You should pay better attention to who you give your friendship to, Miss Rynolds."

"Is there some problem sir?" Emma questioned her voice light and naive.

"Just that some people aren't exactly who they pretend to be. You should watch out. Tom Riddle is a charming young man, wouldn't you agree? But how much do you really know about him?" Dumbledore asked her.

"I'm afraid I do not understand you professor."

Dumbledore's electric-blue eyes scanned her face, searching for something only those eyes would be capable of seeing, "Maybe I judged you wrong Miss Rynolds, or maybe you are incapable of believing that not everyone is good. But please do remember my warning about Riddle."

"Tell me professor, is Harry potter in school maybe?" Emma asked in her sweetest and most curious voice.

"I'm afraid he isn't."

"Then could you please give him a message for me. One that you as well should listen carefully to," Emma said seriously, "Forget about Tom's past. He doesn't live there anymore. He has new life, new goals, new reasons. And whatever you like it or not he has a new chance to live. So right now, you are the only one drowning in the memories."

"Little knowledge is a dangerous thing Miss Rynolds. You should be careful."

"I know more then you think professor. Have a good day sir."

Smiling innocently Emma nodded in direction of the old portrait before leaving down the hall not waiting for a response.

* * *

Tom gracefully sank on the couch next to Emma in the Slytherin common room.

"Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," she flashed him a quick smile, "I just have a lot of studying to do."

"Hmm..."

Sighing she looked sideways at him, "What exactly did you do to Daisy?"

"Nothing much."

"School stuff is suspecting something. You do know that?" Emma questioned.

"Huh? I doubt those excuses for teachers we have are capable of suspecting me. Though, headmistress and that old full might."

"Are you not worried?"

"No. Not one little, tiny bit," Tom told her nonchalantly.

Emma sighed, "They could expel you."

"They won't. You worry too much... Excuse me."

Emma turned to see where Tom was going as he stood up from his place next to her. He was going out? This late at night?

Quickly closing the book in her hands she stood up to follow him.

"Don't," Fabius warned her from his place near fire.

Turning to look at him she saw that he wasn't paying her any attention.

"What do you mean 'don't'. He is gonna do something stupid again."

Fabius gave her a bored glance before looking away again, "Then let him."

"How can you say that? He is your friend!"

"Emma, you can't get him to listen to whatever you have to say. He is going to do whatever the hell he wants. You should know by now that Tom listens to no-one. He is his own king, plays by his own rules and there is nothing you, or anyone else, can do about it. Therefore, it's best to let him be."

"I don't think..." She tried to protest.

"Do you think whatever you do would change make him change his mind?"

"No," Emma admitted.

"Then you should stay where you are and not get involved. Ignorance can be both a bliss and a curse. And trust me when I say this, when it comes to Tom, if you want to stay his friend, nescience is the gift from Gods."

Emma looked worriedly towards the exit of the common room, "Why don't you go then? You'll most likely be a part of whatever is happening anyway."

"I would like to enjoy ignorance as long as possible," Fabius told her, "You keep looking in the exit direction for nothing. He won't came back. Nor would you be able to find him if you leave now, he is already to far away."

"Why did he leave so suddenly?"

"Din left only moments before he did. As far as I can tell, that was the reason. Everyone is already in bed. We should go as well. You can study in the morning. I'll help you with any Hogwarts connected homework in the morning."

* * *

Two short figures were standing close in a back allay of small wizard village. The roofs of the houses surrounding them were hiding the far light of the castle hovering over the place.

Another shadow was moving over the roof of the nearest house, silent as death. Still he couldn't make out the voices of the two cloaked humans below him. He considered using spell that would allow him to hear what they were talking about, but the air around the stranger talking to Din told him that it wouldn't be the smartest idea.

Only five minutes after his arrival, the figure of the person who he followed left with a quick bow. The stranger didn't move from his spot. And Tom didn't dare risk to move. He could hear his own breathing, his own heartbeat too loud in his ears.

In blink of an eye the figure that was standing on the street disappeared without making any movement, any sound. Tom feeling a sudden electricity in the air quickly turned around his wand ready.

The cloaked figure that had appeared behind him gave a short chuckle, "What do you plan to do with that?"

The voice belonged to a male, or more likely to a boy around Tom's age. Putting his wand back to his pocket Tom answered in calm and collected manner, "So you can use magic without wand. Good to know."

"Oh, so you were just checking if I can use magic without that useless piece of wood?" The stranger taunted.

Even with his cloak hiding his exact posture, it was obvious that the teen was tall. And was standing proudly and confidently in front of Tom. There was a hint of arrogance in his voice, but the way he talked spoke the well educated individual.

"You must be Tom Riddle," the stranger stated, what others would normally form as a question.

"How can you be so sure?"

"I doubt there would be anyone else good enough daring enough to try and eavesdrop such a scary mysterious conversation," the figure said in laughing voice.

"I could name a couple," Tom countered easily, even though he was on his toes.

"Hmm? Let me guess. Fabius Whitehorn, although he is a guy who likes to stay out of trouble whenever possible. Edwen Gray, same. And he is blond. Artemisa Gray. Obviously she is a girl so you can't be her. Did I miss anybody?"

Tom staid silent. Whoever the guy was, he was well informed. Not that it was surprising, Din did talk to him just mere minutes ago.

"Nothing to say?" The figure questioned.

"I would love to say a lot. But unfortunately I still don't know your name."

"How impolite of me," taking his hood down with pale hands the teen introduced himself, "I'm Daidalos Amandus, glad to have the pleasure of meeting you."

Though his voice was soft and happy, his face was divided of all emotions. Not even a fake smile was playing on his lips. His face was pale in the darkness, not as pale as Tom was, but still pale enough to look like it was shining at the moon's silver beams. His eyes were completely black, there wasn't a hint of any other color in them. Nor was there any resembled coal instead of black diamond. His black hair was playing in the wind.

"The pleasure is all mine," Tom said with just as soft and happy voice, but unlike the emotionless mask that Daidalos was wearing, his face displayed pleasant delight. He was smiling like he had just met the most inspiring person on earth.

"You sure know how to act. Charming and welcoming. If I didn't know better I would have fell for your flatting."

"Why thank you, Diad. My I call you Diad?"

"No. I like my name. It has a meaning that fits me perfectly after all," Diadalos said arrogantly.

"Yes. It means cunning in old Greek doesn't it? But how confident in your crafty skill you have to be to say that your name fits you."

"Interesting. It looks like you have some knowledge of ancient language. I actually like you and detest you in the same time. Then again, people do say that such of the likes of us have unusually strong animosity towards people who are like we are. Therefore I'm sure that you hate me in return," the teen said knowingly.

All traces of delight disappeared from Tom face, cold, calculating expression taking over his features.

"True. Mutual disliking. And we just met. If you think how similar we seem to be, it sure is a pity."

Cold smile braced Diadalos lips as he watched the teen in front of him, "What are you turning in that brain of yours? Sure you don't plan to kill me. We both know who would lose in such a game."

Tom's smile winded, "Nothing like that. I'm not stupid to try and kill someone who obviously has a greater knowledge of Dark magic then I currently do."

He watched with sanctification as the teens eyes winded for a fraction, smile disappearing from his face. He was surprised Tom could make a difference between powerful wizard and someone not so powerful but using Dark magic. Then the teens narrowed. To be capable of noticing such subtil difference, Tom had to use Dark magic as well.

Corners of Diadalos lips kicked up, "I'm listening."

"I think it's obvious that you wanted to see if you could use me the second you noticed I was here. And we can both know that my motive is not any less flinty. So let's use each other for now shall we?"

"I like using others, but I hate to be used."

"Same here. I wish I could make you my pawn, and I'm sure you want me as yours. But since neither is going to happen why not make the best of what we have?"

"I guess that's the only way we can have what we want, besides killing each other. While I know exactly for what I am going to use you... Tell me what is it that you need from me?"

"Information."

"That is going to be an easy one. So as a good bye, I'll volunteer something that never even crossed your mind. Do you know that the four kingdoms that are the main players on the war scene all have some kind of prophecy? Do you believe in them? I don't. But that's beside the point. You see, about all of those _prophecies _there are ton's of... _rumors,_ so to say, and there are many people who believe in them. But not one of those people ever heard the prophecies. All of those who however did hear them, do not believe in them. Let's see if you'r last name suits you, like my name does me. Think about what I just said. Till our next meeting _Tom Riddle._"

The teen disappeared in a swirl leaving Tom alone on the roof.

As he slowly walked back to Hogwarts. Tom thought about what Diadalos had said. It obviously hinted that prophecies weren't really. Not that Tom could say he believed in them to begin with. But that kid had practically marked them as complete fakes. But what about the prophecy Tom had heard marked it as fake.

It's not hard to figure out why someone would make a fake prophecy. Making people believe in them trough generations was perfect way of keeping them together. It a way of destroying all rebellions in name of something a crowd believed in. It was like Muggle religion to some point.

Like Muggle Catholic church had been using Latin for years to make her members believe in God. The old language that is a historical mach for the time their Savior. Come to think of it, the prophecy was also using Latin. Which was strange to some point. Tom could easily recall Salazar Slytherin saying that the prophecy came from the time of oldest civilizations.

Back then he though that Slytherin was talking about old Egypt, Mesopotamia and old Greece. The Roman empire is some considerable time after the first three were at their peak. So was the wrong language the reason Diadalos didn't believe in those prophecies? For a logical mind like his, that reason was more then enough. But that can't be the only thing that sneaky bastard was hitting at. There had to be something more.

Winter break was coming. He would be returning to the island for it. He would return to the room with the prophecy then and see if he can find anything else.


	49. Kohar and Adiy

**49. Kohar and Adiy**

The door softly closed behind him as he stepped into the entrance hall of the Court. Sighing Tom looked around hoping to see Alkaios somewhere.

He had just arrived back and will be staying there during the winter holidays. He had hoped that siblings would stay there as well as the rest of the children training there, but for whichever reason Alkaios decided to send all the children back to their castles during the time Tom was going to be there. Protectors were also ordered to stay in their part of the castle, meaning only his new siblings and Alkaios would be there to spent free time with.

Well except for the day of the ceremony of him becoming Alkaios hair. The court would be full then.

Tom really hoped that his guardian had a better reason for doing that, other then Tom spending time with his _new family_. He hadn't exactly wanted to change custody to begin with. He liked being part of Grey family. And even though Edwen's and Artemisa's moral standards irritated him most of the time, he liked having them as siblings.

Not that Tom had any problems with Alkaios being his new guardian. Nothing like that. It's just that he would rather not have new siblings as well. Two twin-girls at it. Maybe he could sneak into his room before...

"There he is! Our new brother! How long do you plan to stand there? The diner is getting cold."

"That's him? He doesn't look like anything special. Quite ordinary. I was hoping for a way cooler brother and soon-to-be-Alkaios'-heir."

Yes, he definitely dislikes them. It doesn't matter that they just met, he dislikes them.

Taking a deep breath Tom looked up at the two identical faces. The two were more similar then two eggs if that was even possible. Praying silently in his mind that they won't be joining him at Hogwarts, Tom analyzed them. They would have looked surprisingly normal with ordinary brown hair put into a ponytail. Their skin was a regular color as well. There wasn't anything about the identical features of their faces that was standing out. But what would make the two of them stand out among many similar human beings was the color of their eyes. Or maybe better to say _colors_.

Tom had never seen eyes like those. The closer he got to them the more different colors was he noticing in theirs eyes. Blue, green, yellow, red and orange. Different tones. Different light. All those mixing together into the blackness of their big pupils.

"You two have weird eyes," he said bluntly, almost maliciously.

"Our eyes represent black opals and you can only be jealous because you don't have them. Instead your eyes are boringly black," One of the twins said proudly.

"My eyes are dark green," he corrected her.

"Do I look like I care?"

"The diner is getting cold," The other one reminded them, "By the way since we are your new siblings you should probably know our names. We already know yours. I'm Kohar and she is Adiy."

"Jewel?" Tom questioned.

"Hmm... You have a rather huge knowledge of old names and their meaning to know that. Yes both mean jewel. Mine in Armenian and hers in Hebrew," Kohar observed.

_"I actually knew only that Kohar means jewel since it is still being used in Armenia. No need to tell them that."_

"He is just trying to impress us," Adiy stated coldly.

Tom sighed. This was going to be the longest diner in his life. What was Alkaios thinking adopting those two to be his siblings. It's not like twins didn't have where to live after theirs parents died. As far as Tom was informed their grandparents were still alive, and they must have some close cousins as well.

He just had to live trough diner. Just diner and he was going straight to his room to rest. Just one diner.

Just one diner turned out to have been the longest hour in Tom's life. And was followed by almost as long hour of what Alkaios called 'talking' and Tom thought of as 'giving lectures'. Seriously why bother? He was going to do however he wanted even if Alkaios gave him a week worth lecturing.

And now he was finally in his room.

_"Finally. Peace and quiet. I'm alone."_

BAM!

The loud noise of door hitting the wall rung trough the room.

_"Correction, I was alone. It was peaceful and quiet. Now two idiots entered my room. What in the name of hell do they want?"__  
_

"No fair his room is as big as ours and he is alone. We are sharing ours."

_"You have to be kidding me... __Ignore. Ignore them. Deep breath. Relax. Ignore._"

"Hmm... the view is the same... I guess it's only logical we are only two rooms away."

"What are those books?"

Another crash.

The bed next to Tom sunk slightly as someone sat on it.

Tom kept his eyes closed for only a moment longer before opening them and getting up to look around the room.

One of the twins was sitting right next to him watching the other making a normally tidy room look like a muggle bomb used in World War II had just been dropped in it.

Tom took another deep breath, then another one as 'Hogwarts history' was thrown on the ground. But the last one wasn't to calm down.

"GET OUT! NOW!"

"Stop yelling. We can hear you just fine."

"Yes. We just thought that since we are siblings now, we should spend more time together. Get to know each other."

"What she is saying. That's why we made sure that it would be only us during holidays. Whole Court! Just for the three of us!"

"You did what? You were the once who came up whit the stupid idea of sending children home?" Tom question in disbelief, and added icily, "And I don't want to get to know you. I'll be just fine without you two in my life."

The two started babbling in the same time.

"You're mean."

"Yes and yes," The twin next to Tom said.

"You'll see that we are rather convincing actresses," The other jumped in.

"Yes, we _sooo_ are. We told Alkaios that we wanted whole winter with you and you alone."

"And he agreed to send the rest of the occupants home."

Tom watched their beaming faces for a moment before saying in a silent, emotionless voice, "It's official, I hate you. Now... Leave. My. Room."

After waiting for a bit it became clear that they wouldn't leave any time soon. So Tom decided to use force and just throw them out. Which was exactly what he did. Closing the door again he put a few protecting spells that he hoped twins wouldn't be able to go through or wouldn't want to bother to go through.

Being preoccupied with the spells he missed the soft whisper coming from the other side of the door and a light giggle that followed. The two girls had something on their mind.

* * *

Some time after midnight Tom silently sneaked out of his room and like a shadow walked down the many hallways of the Court towards the room that was keeping the prophecy. He still clearly remembered the way towards it.

However once he reached the entrance hall he saw two figures playing cards on the steps. The twins. The girls were sitting on the steps leisurely playing some unknown game.

"You wanna join?" The one that Tom thought was Kohar asked. He was quickly learning to make the difference between the two by the way they behaved and held themselves.

The other twin, Adiy, started gathering the cards, "Of course he doesn't. He was obviously going somewhere and we are going to go with him, aren't we?"

"What are you two doing awake at this hour?" Tom asked annoyed.

"Playing cards."

"And waiting for you."

"So where are we going?"

"You two are going back to your room," he ordered.

"Wrong."

"Should we let him try again?"

"Nah, better to explain. He isn't obviously isn't that smart."

"We are all going to where you were heading."

"Or we are all going to bed."

"Your choice."

"What do you two want?" Tom questioned.

And when they started talking he wished he didn't ask.

"We?"

"Oh, let us think..."

"What do we want?"

"What do you want Adiy?"

"What do you want Kohar?"

"To find a library."

"Me too. Dark one."

"How do we find it?"

"We were searching for it for... How long?"

"A year."

"A year. And we searched everywhere."

"E-V-E-R-Y-where."

"Couldn't find it."

"No."

"So only place we couldn't search was Court, right."

"Yeah. Had to be there."

"If it was real. We think it was."

"So now we are here."

"But this place is huge."

"Why waste time looking around..."

"... when we don't know the place."

"But you do."

"Yeah. You've been here for a while now."

"You know."

"You..."

"Alright! I understand. Shut up already! You two want to find the Dark magic library," Tom said.

"Correct."

"Well I don't know anything about it," He lied easily.

"Lie."

"It's not." (Tom)

"It is."

"I'm not lying." (Tom)

"Yes you are."

"You used dark magic to look your room so that we couldn't enter it. Yes, yes you did."

"... I hate you both."

"You already informed us once about it," Kohar said smiling cheerfully.

Sighing Tom tried to think of a best way to get rid of the two, "How about I show you the library tomorrow?"

Getting up Adiy cleaned her nightwear, "That would be nice. So where are we going now?"

"I didn't say anything about you going with me now."

"For the last... month or more, we were here with the rest of the children we got to know them rather well."

"Exactly. And since it was your idea to invite them here, we have a few of ours we would like to share with you."

"And you can't do it tomorrow?"

A united and suborn no was the answer.

"Fine. Have it you way," Tom whispered angrily before continuing in a kinder and more charming tone thought there was an underline of sarcasm as well, "I'm going to the room where the prophecy is. If you would _please_ join me, I would _love_ to hear all about your_ idea_ on our way there."

"If you had only acted that charmingly and politely from the start," Adiy said giggling.

* * *

The sisters informed him of their idea while they were going through the endless hallways. It turned out that their plan really was interesting. It was a perfect way to keep them at Court instead of following him to Hogwarts. But Tom wasn't going to agree to their offer that easily. So he had to add a condition on their suggestion.

Their idea involved choosing 10 out of 35 children that were training and living at Court and having them study Dark magic. They would be like the inner circle of the inner circle. The twins would be in control of their movements since Tom isn't in Court all the time. The kids that would be left out of the 'dark' inner circle would be controlled somewhat by the Grey siblings. Even though Edwen and Artemisa were with him at Hogwarts most of the time those kids wouldn't need to be as firmly controlled as the dark inner circle, therefore the Grey siblings would do just fine. They were incredibly loyal to Tom anyway.

However they had agreed that while 'light' part of the inner circle didn't need any oaths, the dark part will need one. They weren't going to force anything too powerful on the children, but more of a light vow of loyalty. Just to be on a safe side. And that was where Tom's condition comes in, the twins and Tom were going to make a much stronger magical bond between themselves then a simple vow. They were going to create a blood-bond of sorts. The bond that would be significantly in Tom's favor, but for whatever reason the twins didn't mind it at all.

While the idea really was brilliant, Tom had to wonder just how far they could push it before Alkaios stopped them. So far the old man had stayed out of almost everything and allowed Tom to do whatever he wanted only giving him warning and advice from time to time.

But that doesn't mean he agreed with everything, or that he had no knowledge of what was happening. Far from it. After all Alkaios was neither stupid nor naive. And Tom sometimes questioned if his guardian had any motives for turning the blind eye to him so many times. Well whatever the reason was he really hoped that his guardian would turn a blind eye one more.

"It's here," Tom informed them once they reached the silver door of the room holding the prophecy.

"Wow. That door is sooo cool. I want it for my room."

"Hmm... It's rather interesting."

Tom rolled his eyes and entered the room going towards the prophecy.

While he was standing in front of it and listened to what it was saying, Adiy was next to him analyzing the pedestal and Kohar walked around the room watching the far walls for some reason Tom couldn't understand. The walls were in complete darkness, there was nothing there to see, nor was it possible to see anything.

As the prophecy finished Tom heard both girls mumble, "Interesting."

"What's interesting?"

Adiy started to explain first while Kohar kept analyzing the walls.

"I studied jewels for a year or so. And those ones," she said pointing at a few electrical blue once, "are used to drag the energy towards them. So if you tried to use any spell in this room it's magical energy would be automatically absorb by them and the spell you wanted to cast would have no effect. Look."

She stretched out her hand and created the ball on light on her palm. But the ball lasted for only a second before disappearing and while it was impossible to see the energy of it being sucked away it was possible to feel it in the air if you were standing close enough.

She continued, "There are some other interesting jewels placed here as well... I don't know what each one of them can do. But what bothers me is that I can't read any of those symbols. They are probably carved in as part of some spell, possibly changing the way some of the jewels work..."

Kohar was next to them in a second looking at the symbols carved in the pedestal her sister was talking about.

"They are the same," she noted.

"Same?" Tom and Adiy questioned.

"Like the symbols on the walls all around this room. I can't read them. But I do recognize some of them. However the once I do recognize aren't from the same language. It is possible that someone had made a cryptic language by mixing other languages as well as adding original symbols."

Once she mentioned the symbols on the wall both Tom and Adiy looked around carefully. And not being capable of seeing anything they both came closer to the walls.

"Hmm... You are right Kohar. They look the same," The twin agreed with her sister.

"I don't see anything," Tom complained, "How is it that you can see it and I can't?"

"Oh... It's like your parseltongue. Something we inherited from some crazy inventor that was part of our family. Although your ability is way older then out eyes are."

"So you can see in the dark?"

"Yeah, something like that. it's not exactly clear but we can see."

Tom turned back to the wall and put his hand on the surface. Underneath his fingertips he really could feel something like symbols carved in, but he couldn't see them. The light from the pedestal wasn't strong enough for him to see anything but the blackness of the wall.

"Let's go back to our rooms. It's really late. We'll talk about our finding tomorrow," Kohar suggested.

The other two only nodded as they turned towards the door.

* * *

In next few day they all spent together they both learned a lot about each other. Or rather Tom learned about siblings from observing them and occasionally getting them to answer some of personal questions, and from arguing with them about different stuff from where they were going to sit during meals to complicated theories about magic.

They learned about Tom from nosing around his stuff whenever they had a chance and even getting their hands on his diary once for a short period though. Tom hadn't even knew that the two were entering his room and nosing around until his diary went missing. Tom surprised himself when he didn't kill them the second he found them with his diary.

They were arguing most of the time and Tom was surprised Alkaios hadn't decided to strangle them yet.

But they had some good moments as well. Like when he took them to Dark magic library. He had asked them why had they wanted to find the library so much and their answer was surprisingly honest and slightly intriguing. Since they were twins they had shared everything since the time they had been born. And since they did everything together they rely on each other all the time.

Some time ago, when the two were around nine they decided to start learning different things. That way their combined knowledge would be larger and since the two knew each other so well and could easily understand what the other is thinking without having to say a single word, working together when one is missing the knowledge the other had shouldn't be any obstacle for them.

Well two years ago they decided to find a spell that could connect their brains and like that fuse their knowledge. they would be twice as effective that way. Since there was no such spell that could connect them that way in ordinary books, Kohar and Adiy had decided to try and find the dark magic library from the stories.

Tom wasn't sure he could ever stand sharing his thoughts with someone, but after seeing the two train together some days later, he had to admit that the two were already functioning like one being. It was incredible and scary in the same time.

Their movements were completely in sync, like they could read what the other wanted to do. They fought together. Apart, the two were nowhere near as impressive as they were together.

He even lost both sword and magic dull against the two. Even though they weren't as powerful as he was, they built on each other movements so perfectly that it was hard to keep track of them. Apart, it took Tom only seconds to win.

But the winter holidays were coming to an end and it would soon be time for him to back to Hogwarts.

Exactly one week before he would be leaving. The three of them found the spell for blood-bond that would link them for life. And they were planing to preform it before Tom leaves.

* * *

The tree were siting in Tom's room after performing the spell of a strong blood-bond. Since he could now tell them everything without them being capable of selling him out, Tom had told them about his meeting with Daidalos Amandus. The girls seemed to be rather interested in the teen and what his motivation could be and were still lively discussing all the possibilities.

In his head Tom had turned the conversation off a while ago and was instead thinking about the spell girls had been searching for, for the last two years. It had occurred to him a while ago that what girls wanted to do, it a theory wasn't that knew to him, and he was sure that he had once read something about the way to merge two thinking processes in one. Maybe back then when he had been trying to find a way to make his 'clone' talk parseltongue. But in the end the way he did it was rather unusual and defiantly not from any book. He remembers everything about that.

Still it was possible that reading a theory about something similar had given him idea to fuse two brains into one. He always remembered everything! Why can't he remember something now? That's way he keeps a diary. Because of those rare moments when he needs a sentence or two to remind him at what time he had seen or heard something. Unluckily this time around his diary was no help at all. back then he must have though about it as useless information and had written an indication about something that was, no doubt, a far more intriguing theory.

He would need to go trough Restricted section in Hogwarts' library. Maybe seeing the book would ring a bell of recall in his head. Sighing in annoyance Tom looked out of the window.

The pure, white snow covered every inch on visible grounds. It was a beautiful, relaxing sight. Closing his eyes Tom slowly entered his own mind, going trough the thousands of information stored in there.

* * *

**Author's note:**

****I CAN EXPLAIN!

My prom was on 15th when the update was supposed to be and on 1st when the last chapter was updated I was so sure that I would have time to update. But I ended up writing nothing with all the preparations for prom and university entrance exam (Which was two days ago). I'm so tired =.=

So now finally I am free~!

Anyway I hope you forgive me. (Especially since I'm feeling down 'cause even though I got in the university I wanted I'm not sure I'll get a scholarship T.T)

Till the next chapter

Ciao, ciao~


	50. Two years later

**50. Two years later**

It was still snowing outside and Tom's dark orbs were following two figures as they walked trough the snow covered garden of Court towards the exit. They were whispering something and had stopped at the gate wrapped up in their discussion. He wondered what Edwen and Artemisa were talking about.

"Unbelievable," Artemisa mumbled as she stopped at the gate.

"It's been two years Misa. Two years since they formed the 'Dark circle'. What did you expect?"

"I know what I didn't expect Edwen. And that is for Tom to completely forget us, to so easily replace us with twins."

"He hadn't replaced us. You know that."

"Then why didn't we know of the operation of the 'Dark circle'? Why hadn't he told us that they were going to help Daidalos kill his own family and get the throne? Why are we told two weeks later that they succeeded?" Artemisa questioned.

"We've been controlling the 'Light' part of the inner circle for two years Misa. Tom already knows we disagree with the existence of the dark part and most of their actions. We had disagreed with him keeping the contact with Daidalos since he told us two years ago. And Stefan had run to Salazar Slytherin less them a month ago. We were responsible for him. He was part of the 'Light circle'."

"No we weren't responsible for him running away to that bastard," Artemisa yelled angrily as she violently opened the gate, "The twins were. They had excluded him from 'Dark circle'. It was only a matter of time before he would have left. Thanks to them not trusting him."

"They were right for not trusting him. He did leave," Edwen tried again.

"No, Edwen. They were wrong. Stefan was loyal to Tom because Tom had included him when the whole project of talented children training at Court started three years ago. Then one year later twins came with their _brilliant_ idea and exclude Stefan. He feels betrayed. They leave him in the 'light part' of the inner circle knowing he would leave sooner or later. Most likely later, when his sick father finally passes away. Which is exactly what happened. Perfect setup. Adiy and Kohar hate us as much as we hate them..."

"I don't hate them," Edwen tried but was waved of by his little sister.

"The two can't stand that we were longer with Tom then they were. They can't stand that he trust us unconditionally even after two years of weirdest happening which were all setups that twins so kindly prepared for us. They are jealous that Tom trust us even without the blood-bond, while they needed to create one two years ago or otherwise would have never gained his trust."

Edwen sighed, _"It has been two years since Tom and his new siblings were getting closer. And while it was true that he sometimes excluded us from some of his plans and wouldn't tell us about them, he is still the same Tom from before twins appeared. It's just that he knows when it's better not to tell us something and avoid arguing about it. He had been doing it a lot lately..._

_Still I know he trust us. And I know Artemisa is somewhat right when it comes to twins... I've been in close contact with both enough times to know that they don't like me and Artemisa, thought they don't hate us either. Hate is such a strong word. I've been working with Kohar and Tom on decoding the symbolic language in the room of prophecy for the last two years. So far we've been able to only decode bits and parts of the whole thing. Even Alkaios tried to help us when he had free time. Come to think of it, he had been working a lot lately, even Tom complained how little time Alkaios spends with him. Which in itself spoke volumes._

_They had been in a lot of open fights with Slytherin lately and suffered great sacrifices. Alkaios himself had been in front lines too many times. He was even badly hurt last summer, most likely because he was lacking concentration and analytically skills because he was tired.  
_

_Artemisa and I were with Tom when they informed him that his guardian was hurt. I swear I've never seen Tom run so fast. He had run to Alkaios room at the speed of light." _Edwen stepped out of the gate and looked at the sky smiling, he was glad that Tom had finally found someone who was like a father-figure to him, _"It's unfortunate that we are at war Tom, isn't it? So many sacrifices. All the blood that is already spilled and all the blood that would be."_

Walking towards the Lighting castle Edwen thought sadly about the raising horror of the war that had been openly taking lives for the last year and a half. He would ask mum to prepare a big diner tonight for family, Tom would be there too, and dad. Yes, dad could use some rest as well. We'll all be together, laughing, enjoining ourselves, like there is nothing out there waiting to take as apart. He was so happy that his whole family was still there. He wanted to enjoy it.

As Edwen's figure disappeared out of sight Tom turned his attention to the two teenage girls still sitting in his room.

"So? What do you think Daidalos will do next? We can't relay on him for information anymore. He got what he wanted and we got out if him as much as we could during the last two years."

"He won't attack us," Adiy said thoughtfully and then quieted down looking at her sister.

Tom sighed. They were doing it again. Ever since they had connected their mind, 17 months ago, they had been exchanging opinions between themselves in complete silence, regularly forgetting that there were other people interested to hear what they were thinking about.

Tom was already used to that and was normally either waiting for them to conclude and sum up what they wanted to say or entering their connected minds using an upgraded version of Legilimens to follow their conversation. Since he wasn't in mood for waiting this time around he easily broke trough their protecting barriers and entered their minds.

_"You can't think like that,"_ Kohar stated.

_"Why not? His first priority is destroying Salazar, just like ours. And since Kleonike family has some kind of agreement with the eel it would be in his best intentions not to attack us now."_ (Aidy)

_"That may be. But in this war it's only us, Salazar, Kleonike family and Daidalos Amandus left. The four of us had already taken control over every single magic island and castle that had been hidden from the rest of the magic world. We have been the main players since the start. And for the last three years we've become the only players in this war. Everything is under our control, just the four of us. Well, the Ministries of magic all around the world are still on their own but they don't know about us..."_

"They are becoming aware of our possible existence," Tom informed Kohar out loud.

She trow him a glance, Tom had obviously entered their minds again. They told him not to do that. He needs to learn to respect their privacy. But Kohar still continued the conversation in her thoughts, it was faster that way, _"That may be Tom, but the fact stays the four of us are the main and only players. Back to your question Adiy, while I agree that it would be best for Daidalos to not attack us, so that we can together eliminate the problem called Salazar, he is a sick bastard like Tom..."_

"Hey! I can hear what you are thinking!"

_"...and he might make a deal with the evil eel to take us out first. Three against one. And we are out."_

"Your theory has a big problem Kohar. Then Kleosikes and Salazar would together take him out," Tom said lightly.

"Or if Pelagius Kleosnike and his younger brother make a deal with Daidalos, they can take out Salazar and he could take out them, though in that scenario it might end the other way around as well."

The three teens turned towards the door to see Alkaios standing there.

"I guess it could end like that as well," Tom admitted looking at his guardian.

"But as the things are now, I agree with Adiy."

The girl smiled brightly looking at Tom and Kohar.

"How so?" Kohar questioned.

"The way things had been developing for the last few months between Salazar and Kleosnike brothers... it is likely that they agreement had somewhat changed or the Kleosnikes are getting stronger. You see, at first, when Pelagius had inherited the throne after his fathers death he had created a deal with Salazar that wasn't exactly good for him, but it was supposed to somewhat protect his huge kingdom. He gave Salazar some parts of it as part of the deal."

The three teens nodded.

"He was still a weak leader back then and had almost no control over his father's empire. Now, we learned from Daidalos that over the years, his older brother Zopyros had successfully taken over some of the parts of the big kingdom as well as many independent islands and castles that way making the Amandus kingdom grow into empire as well. But for the last year he hadn't been able to take over a single part of their territory. Now, since Daidalos had taken over we don't know if he will have more success then his brother or not. As for us, we've been fighting only Salazar for quite some time now."

"Wait," Tom interrupted, "If we were only fighting Salazar, then we both have been suffering great loss, the empire of Amandus had been attacking Kleosnike but they had no success in the past year, meaning they suffered as well and now that Daidalos had killed his brother and have taken over the throne they are future weakened if only for a short while. On the other hand, in his fear of being attacked Pelagius had made a deal with Slytherin around four years ago so that he could protect himself somewhat. It was a move that at that time was rather foolish, but is working in his advantage now. Salazar won't attack him. Furthermore, he had been trying to gain more power in his kingdom while we fought Salazar, and had succeeded even while Zopyros was attacking him... and..."

Tom quieted down. He couldn't believe it. He had always thought of Kleonsnikes as the weakest players in the game of war. They had taken out 50 of their solders with only 30 kids who had barely started their training at Court, Tom had ordered those kids to take them out around 27...28 months ago. Children had taken out grown up solders. Kids and young teens who were just promising prodigies!

"Exactly," Alkaios agreed with him tiredly, "They were the weakest and greatly underestimated. Now, after the real war had started no-one attacked them thinking of them as easiest to take out and leaving them for the end and because of that they had the least losses, and had grown to be the strongest."

Tom looked at the old man. He looked so tired, so defeated, "I'm sorry."

The apology was a soft whisper that Alkaios barely heard.

"Hmm?"

"Now because of my mistake Stefan had run away to Salazar and he probably has tons of useful information about us. And... because of some other things as well. I made a huge mess. My rash decisions probably made us the weakest players in this war."

"That's out of character," Alkaios noted smiling, "I had warned you Tom, but you were to stubborn to listen. However you do learn from your mistakes most of the time. And letting you make big mistakes is the best way to show you that you were wrong."

The twins were watching Tom with big eyes. They noticed that Alkaios had showed them the door and quickly exited. They didn't want to be lectured and if they stay Tom would drag them in. He always does.

As the door closed Alkaios continued, "However some of the things were partly my mistakes as well. As for Stefan bringing Salazar some big news. I guess the old sleazebag must be disappointed. I was carefully controlling Stefan's movements around Court. He doesn't know anything that Salazar doesn't already know himself."

"I thought it was weird that you were giving me a free hand all the time."

Alkaios laughed, "I was giving you a free hand Tom. But I had to control what you were doing and stop you from creating a huge mess whenever possible."

He put a hand on Tom head and messed up his hair, lightening the mood.

"Hey! I don't even look like I am ten anymore!"

"For me you are still a little boy," Alkaios informed him.

"That's because you are too old," Tom mumbled trying to get his hair back in place.

"Come to think of it... am I ever going to meet your girlfriend?"

"You can't be serious? Who even told you that I'm dating?"

"Artemisa did. She said her name was Laurentia, if I recall correctly. You've been dating her for almost a year now."

Tom watched his guardian not sure if he was joking or not.

"I think parents normally know who their children are dating... Since I am your guardian and therefore a father-figure..." Alkaios continued with a serious face.

"And we are such a _normal_ family that follows _normal_ rules." Tom cut in sarcastically.

"Fine, fine. I was just kidding anyway," Alkaios said smiling and taking an envelope out, "Here she send you this. I don't know why she didn't use those talknet-mirrors you have."

Tom took the envelope with a sigh. And watched as Alkaios exited the room smiling. They were at war and Alkaios was all happy to see that Tom had got a little letter from his _girlfriend. _He couldn't understand that man at times. Hopefully Alkaios didn't get the stupid idea that Tom loves Laurentia like Alkaios loved Penelope. Without even opening the letter Tom threw it at his night table and laid on the bed looking at the ceiling and wondering what is Daidalos going to to do next and what should he do next.

He wished Fabius was there. It had been so much fun last summer when he had stayed at the Court for a month.

* * *

Daidalos was sitting casually on the throne looking around the empty room. The crown had been his for two weeks now. He had already stabilized his position as the new king.

Thirteen people, he had taken back what was rightfully his with only 13 people. Not even people, teenagers.

His cold laughter rung trough the big stony room, leaving the eery echo behind. Now that his siblings were dead, he was the last Amandus. Taking out his brother had been so easy. Though, even if he hated Zopyros, Daidalos had to admit that he respected his older brother. He was powerful, intelligent and proud being, unlike their worthless sister. He had so much fun killing Delilah, that pathetic being that dared itself to think it was part of the prestigious dynasty like Amandus. She had begged him to let her live, all in tears, trying to kiss him, to hug him. He had so much fun killing her slowly, painfully. His eyes lighted with excitement. And then returned to their empty blackness only seconds later.

Those 13 teens are going to be a problem. They weren't under his control after all. One of them was Tom himself, two were his twin sisters and the ten were under his complete control.

"I wonder how many of those there are... just those ten?" He asked into the empty room.

_"Then again, it doesn't make any difference to me. I'm still more powerful the you are Tom. You play around to much. Even though I gave you so much information you have yet to do something with them and look at me, I already have everything I want and I am no longer going to play with you. Though... I wonder... was I wrong in assuming that you live on the island that holds the room with cryptic spells of Dark magic? But I was so sure of it... The room with prophecy here clearly states that such room exists and is a part of the first secret island that was created. It's unfortunate that the whole room isn't decoded yet and I don't have time for such things... Maybe I should organize a team that is going to do the decoding... There should be spells in the room here as well..."_

Sigh

_"Seriously, what was it with those people all that time ago. Why did they have to write everything in codes. Boring. Maybe I should go over Father's books again... That's where I found out that there is a hidden message in the room with the prophecy. Really... Tom could spend more time doing the decoding. There won't be a point in me trying to steal it from him if he doesn't decode it first. I wonder if there is anything the other two empires are hiding... The Kleosnike family is rather old and their kingdom had had the same capital forever... they probably have something on which their power is based. But Slytherin... he most likely doesn't have anything big. He created his kingdom not long ago. Less then thousand years ago... He might know what other kingdoms have though, and is probably trying to get his fingers on the secrets of each. It's a pity that not one of the three ruling families knows much about the power they hold."_

Standing up he slowly walked through the room, it was sunny outside he should take a walk to visit his parents. He wanted to tell his father that he had taken revenge for his death. And he needed to clear his mind a bit and think about what his next move should be.

_"Alexandros, Amandus and Kleonike. The only three dynasties left from the old world. Well if stories are to be trusted, all three did a great job in destroying or submit other powerful wizard civilizations. Slytherin has some guts standing up against the three. He did a great job creating a new kingdom from some of those islands and castles that were still free..."_

* * *

A light knock on the door made Pelagius look up from the book he was reading, "Enter."

"Brother, we just received some important information from Salazar. His messenger claims that the youngest child of the Amandus family had taken over the throne some time ago," Prometheus said.

"Hmm... That means Zopyros is dead. I'm not sure if those are good or bad news. I don't know much about his younger brother."

"I think that whichever Amadus is in control, it's always bad news. They always seem to know more then anybody else. I wonder how they grater all the knowledge."

"Humph, I can't say I care. Where is Euphemios? Had he been informed of the news?"

"Yes, I met him on the way here. He seemed worried."

Sighing Pelagius stood up, "I guess I should find him and see what he thinks about the latest turn of events. He is my adviser after all. We'll be in the throne room in around ten minutes. Prometheus, please join us. I want you there."

"Of course brother, I'll be there."

Pelagius slowly exited the room and started walking around the corridors hoping to find Euphemios somewhere.

_"New Amandus huh? How could he have taken over? Zopyros was a powerful leader... It must have been his younger brother that had taken him out. But how old is he... The heir of the Alexandros is same age as my younger brother if Salazar is to be trusted. That means fifteen. I'm seventeen so there isn't the big difference between us. And Salazar was sure he would kill Alkaios Alexandros soon, so the heir should be the one to watch out for. But how old is Amandus... How old is he? Who is he?..."_

* * *

Thick fog was surrounding Hogwarts express that was waiting on the platform 9 and 3/4 for students to board so that it can take them back to the castle after the winter holidays. Through the whiteness of the air it was hard to see anything but the shadowed figures of the people standing around. Tom's eyes narrowed as he tried to see through it.

Left from him he noticed a familiar curly hair. Since she was close enough for them to be capable to see each others faces, their eyes met and Emma quickly looked away heading for the train.

"Tom!"

A swirl of blue, green and black crashed into him. Laurentia hugged him happily, "I missed you! Why didn't you answer to single one of my calls and letters."

Tom looked down at her face, his eyes moving over it until they stopped on her pouting lips.

"I was busy," he answered nonchalantly.

Moving one of his hands to her back while tangling the other in her hair, he kissed her softly, before moving her head in a position that allowed him to deepen it. Laurentia allowed his tongue to invade her mouth, to dominate her like he always did. Neither cared that they were making out on the full platform.

Once they parted for breath she smiled at him, her eyes shiny, "Unfortunately, Fabius tricked me into sharing the compartment with him and Devlin. Idris will be joining as well, she is ditching her Perfect _obligations_ ... You'll be joining us too, right?"

"Of course, after I finish the Perfect duties," Tom agreed kissing her forehead lightly.

"Great, but you two better forget about snogging in there. It's rather annoying to watch," Idris commented showing up out of nowhere.

"You're just jealous because I have the sweetest boyfriend ever~!" Laurentia answered in a sing-song voice.

"Yeah, he is perfect," Fabius agreed sarcastically from behind them.

Tom raised a brow questionably, but Fabius only shrugged.

"Where's Melfoy?"

"Breaking up with his girlfriend," Idris answered.

"Why? She is hot."

"Tom!" Laurentia hit his arm.

"That was unnecessary," he informed her.

"Well, it looks like he wants to get back with little mud-blood," Idris informed the rest of them.

"Again? But they had been dating for only two months at the end of our fourth year and had broken up."

"Gee... I wonder why they had broke up Tom," Fabius said sardonically.

Laurentia tighten her grip on Tom's hand.

"It was her own mistake," she said hatefully.

Fabius sighed, _"Yeah, Laurentia. It was Emma who kissed Tom, not the other way around, because that is so like her. Hell, of all of us I'm the only one who knows Tom had completely set her up after she tried to inform you Lar, that he had cheated on you. Like you could have really caught Tom cheating on you without him wanting you to. Frankly, you don't know him that well. You and Idirs haven't talked to her since then and neither did Devlin. She was supposed to be your friend and you ditched her like that. Actually from all of us, I'm the only one she can still talk to. And besides me Terry is the only other one in the whole Slytherin house. Her fifth year so far must have been a living hell. I guess it's a good thing Artemisa seemed to befriend her..."_

"Oh, I heard Din isn't returning to Hogwarts and is still hospitalized. Looks like Slytherin will need a new Chaser," Laurentia notified them, "And Daisy went abroad to finish this school year since he won't be returning to Hogwarts for a while."

"Of course he won't be returning any time soon. You were there. You saw for yourself what bloody mess Tom created out of him."

Tom turned to see Devlin behind him and Laurentia, watching him gloomily.

"Hello to you too Melfoy. I don't know why are you so sad about Din. You have a free spot in the teem now. You may as well thank me."

"Humph."

"Let's go to our compartment," Laurentia suggested trying to drag Tom towards the train. She didn't want to listen to another conversation about stupid Quidditch games that have yet to be played.

"I'll be there in a minute. I just need to speak to Fabius privately," he told her smiling.

As Laurentia reluctantly left with Devlin and Idris he turned towards his best friend, "Could you refrain from making sarcastic and malicious comments all the time?"

"Depends. Are you going to admit that you cheated on her and set Emma up so that Laurentia wouldn't believe her?"

"No."

"Then I won't."

"Fabius."

"Look, I know I'm your best friend and that is the only reason I haven't spoken up for Emma yet. But seriously, Emma was your best _female_ friend and look what you did to her, just because she was trying to tell Laurentia, who was also her friend, that you cheated. Lar is obviously someone you just mess around with."

"You don't have to worry about me and Emma. We are fairly well connected, better then you can even imagine," Tom stated looking at his left hand, "As for Laurentia... Why do you care so much?"

"I don't."

"Do you _like_ her?"

"No."

"Hmm..."

"I said _no_, Tom."

"Of course you did. But don't worry too much. I'm gonna break up with her. She is annoying. As hot as she is, she is not worth the trouble. She called me million times during the winter break I wanted to throw the talknet-mirror and break it into million pieces. Not to mention she sent me ten letters in the last week."

Fabius shook his head, "Let me guess, you haven't answered her at all. How can you be so indifferent, she_ is_ your girlfriend."

Tom just shrugged nonchalantly walking towards the train. He seriously couldn't care less for Laurentia. He had started dating her because she was good-looking and he wanted to discourage other annoying girls. Not that the plan was overly successful, some girls were still trying to trick him into taking love potion. Stupid girls.

"I sent her a 'Merry Christmas' card and a present. That was more then enough," he informed Fabius impassively as he boarded the train.

* * *

She was all alone in the warm compartment lost in thoughts.

_"I wonder what went trough his head when he saw me earlier. I wonder what thoughts cross him mind when someone mentions my name... if anyone does."_

"I see you are alone."

Emma looked from the boringly identical snow-covered fields to the new comer.

"Hi Terry," she smiled weakly, "How were your holidays?"

"Obviously better then yours," he noticed taking the seat across of her, "I guess you didn't find it necessarily to listen to my advice."

"Look, I could choose between turning the page or closing the book. I decided to turn the page from the moment this whole thing started."

"You should throw away the whole book... or burn it," Terry advised her.

"I couldn't, even if I tried," Emma said clenching her left fist, "I could have only left the book aside, until he decides that I should take it again. Besides, you shouldn't judge my choices without knowing my reasons."

"I tried to understand your reasons Emma, the problem is that you don't want to explain them to me. You don't even want to tell me what is wrong to begin with. All I know is that you and Tom haven't said a word to each other since the end of your fourth year. And there isn't a single other Slytherin, besides Fabius, who is talking to you. Obviously because Tom has them all wrapped around his little finger," Terry looked at the girl sadly, "Why won't you say anything to me? I am your friend. You can talk to me."

"I already told you! Tom cheated on Laurentia, she obviously meant nothing to him and wanting to do what was best for her, I wanted to tell her the ugly truth. Tom decided that I need to learn that the road to hell is paved with good intentions by pushing me into hell himself. That is all there is to it," Emma said irritated and near tears.

"You miss him, don't you?"

"I don't miss Tom. I miss the person I thought he was. The person I thought was my friend, the person that obviously doesn't exist."

"I still think there is something you aren't telling me," Terry said looking at her tired face.

"There isn't," she countered avoiding his gaze and looking out of the window.

Flash back

Their fourth school year will be finishing in only one month and Emma had fallen behind in her studies greatly. She had been concentrating on her muggle studies since she was going to finish the penultimate grade of her high-school education that summer. After that she would only have to finish the last grade during the winter break on her fifth year and would have enough time to prepare for O.W.L.s. But that was all in theory.

Right then, she was on her way to the Hogwarts library, even thought it was almost midnight, since she needed to sit and study or she would fail all the tests and wouldn't be returning to Hogwarts and wouldn't be needing the O.W.L.s.

Quickly passing from one hallway to another a giggle from a hallway on her right caught her attention and she curiously turned to look what was going on. It better not be a group of giggling third-year girl trying to sneak love potion in the castle again. Tom would strangle them if they try to hoax him into taking it again. But what a surprise it was to see Tom himself making out with a girl who most definitively wasn't Laurentia, who Tom had been dating since the end of their winter break that year.

Emma couldn't see who the girl was though. But having seen more then enough she had quietly left the scene, before anyone noticed she was there.

For the next few days she had been turning the same thought around her head. What should she do next? Maybe she should just stay quiet and pretend she hadn't seen anything. No, that wasn't the right thing to do. Maybe she should talk to Tom. But somehow that haven't felt right either. Tom would have thought of a perfect excuse for what he had done no doubt. In the end she had decided to confront Laurentia directly. Even thought she thought of Tom as a closer friend then the black-haired girl, Laurentia was still her friend.

On the morning one week after the incident she tried to speak to the girl. The problem was that Laurentia was rarely away from Tom.

"Hi Lar, Tom. Sorry for cutting your snogging season short."

"You were stuck in library lately, that I'm actually glad to see you. Even if you were interrupting," Tom smiled at her angelically. Laurentia just giggled hugging him.

"Right... amm, Laurentia can I speak to you?"

"Sure, talk."

"Privately please."

"Don't worry, I'm leaving," Tom said nonchalantly though Emma was sure he gave her a warning glance. Or maybe she was just being paranoid. She still wasn't sure she made a right decision.

"Well, what is it?" Laurentia questioned smiling happily, not even looking at Emma but following Tom's figure as he disappeared among other students.

Emma started intertwining her fingers uncomfortably, "Okay, I really don't know how to say this..."

At her awkward tone Laurentia finally turned to look at her, "Say what?"

"Tom is..." Emma faced the ground as she mumbled quietly, "Hescheatinyo."

"Excuse me?"

Taking a deep breath, she waved her hands helplessly, "Tom is cheating on you."

Emma watched as smile slowly faded away from Laurentia's face.

"What? What are you saying?"

"Look, Lar..."

"Stop it. I can't believe you. How can you just make up something like that?"

"You think I made this up?"

"Obviously. Every girl in this school wishes to be in my shoes. And you were so jealous of me that you tried to make me break up with Tom," Laurentia stated arrogantly.

"Jealous? Do you hear the words that are coming out of your mouth?" Emma asked in disbelief.

"You know I'm right. Stop pretending. I'm leaving. I need to find my cute boyfriend."

Emma watched as Laurentia left, she couldn't understand how her friend got such a stupid idea that she was trying to break them up on purpose.

"You've got to be kidding me..." She whispered to herself. She had spent days worrying over what she should do for that?

End of Flash back

"Emma!"

"Sorry, Terry... mm... I just... I need to be alone."

"So you aren't going to answer my question?" he asked irritated.

"What question?"

"Merlin! You weren't even listening to me! Why am I still trying?"

Emma looked at the angry teen with sorrowful eyes. Terry Fudge was one of the rare friends she still had, and she was really grateful for his friendship. But she wasn't in mood for his questions. Terry had been asking her same questions since he had found her crying in an empty hallway three weeks before the summer break, and she had been refusing to answer his questions since then.

Emma smiled apologetically at him, "I had spaced-out a bit. Sorry. And I don't want to keep you here. Your friends must be wondering where you disappeared and you should go and enjoy your trip."

"And live you alone so that you can jump out the window? I don't think so."

"I'm not suicidal. I'll be fine."

Terry looked the girl sitting across of him with worry in his eyes. Then he forced a smile on his face.

"Since you want to get rid of me so much I'll honor your wishes," He said jokingly, "But I'll be sending that Gryff girl to keep you company."

"Artemisa? I already saw her at the station, she volunteered herself to keep me company after lunch. I feel bad keeping you away from your friends."

"Emma, you are our friend. And my offer still stands."

"What offer?" She asked in confusion.

"The one I gave you seven months ago. I'm still gonna kick Tom's sorry ass, all you have to do is ask."

"I'll refuse. You can only try to kick his ass. _Try_ being the key word in the sentence. Besides, I wouldn't have time to visit you in the hospital."

"You just seriously hurt my feelings Emma," Terry said dramatically as he closed the door waving happily.

As the door shut, Emma allowed her smile to fade away, losing herself in memories.

Flash back

She was studying in the library that night, the same day that she had told Laurentia that Tom had cheated on her. And since Tom hadn't faced her the whole day, she was starting to hope that luck was on her side and that Laurentia wouldn't tell Tom about their conversation.

But luck didn't seem to be on her side, sometime after the library closed she could feel, more then actually hear, silent footsteps as he approached her. He stopped behind her, framing her in as he placed his hands on the table.

Looking over her shoulder at the essay she had been writing for the past hour, he smirked, "Runes? You are gonna fail that subject this time around."

He knew. Emma knew from the moment she heard Tom speak that Laurentia did talk to him, even though she didn't believe her.

"I think I'll successfully pass it," she whispered in response.

"How? I know I won't be helping you to pass it," Tom commented as he took a seat next to her, "You know, the road to hell is paved with good intentions..."

"I have a feeling you are going to show me how correct that is," Emma interrupted him. She was trying very hard to keep her voice emotionless.

Tom slowly ran his fingers through her hair, "Of course not. You are my friend Emma."

She could feel her hair raise. His tone was too light, too kind, too forgiving.

Smiling he continued, "Though, I thought you are smarter than that. You should have stayed quiet. After all I was just getting the Gryffindor password from her."

"Why would you need their password now?" Emma questioned. Slytherin was in the lead and the school year had almost ended.

"Professor Cormack Brown decided to create a little dueling tournament. And since only fifth years and up can compete, the best duelist is on his last year in Gryffindor. We thought about getting rid of the competition."

"That _explanation_ must have worked perfectly with Laurentia," Emma observed.

"It did. Without the kissing part."

"It's a pity that it is only half-truth. I'm sure you could have got the information you needed without making out with the girl."

"True, but there was barely any fun in that. Elizabeth is rather easy to manipulate, wouldn't you agree?"

"I think I could have lived without knowing who she was."

A soft chuckle left Tom's lips, "But you are my friend, shouldn't you know? But since you don't want any company, I'll be leaving you to your studies."

"That's it?" Emma questioned.

"I don't know what you expected me to do. Have a nice night."

With that Tom silently left the library, too innocently, too quickly, leaving Emma behind to ponder what he was up to.

The next morning Tom had joined her for breakfast and was smoothly keeping their usual conversation. It scared Emma and in the same time it lulled her into a false feeling of safety.

"Chocolate?" Tom offered as they exited the Great Hall.

"Thanks."

They were walking in silence for some time, both lost in their own thoughts.

"You know, you were right," He started as she slowly ate the sweet.

"About what?" Emma questioned in confusion.

"You were right for telling Laurentia what you did. Maybe... the two of us should break up."

Emma swallowed wrongly and started coughing.

"Are you alright?"

She just waved her hand dismissively at Tom's alarmed tone. They were in a secluded hallway, one of many leading from the Slytherin common room to the upper parts of Hogwarts. But this one was rarely used. It was an unwritten rule among the Slytherins that only those speaking of private matters would use it. Being a secret hallway it was mostly unknown to the other houses.

Tom leaned against the wall waiting for her to regain her breath. His ears picked up the sound of steps getting closer to them. Taking a quick glance at his watch told him that that someone should be Laurentia. A smiled played on edges of his lips as he hugged Emma dragging her close to him. Emma could feel the electricity running trough her blood at his touch and was slightly confused as to what was happening, but she was left no time to think about what was going on.

Tom's soft full lips crashed on hers and her mind went blank. She couldn't think anymore, she could only feel. Feel his lips on hers, feel as he bit her lover lip lightly, his hands on her hips pulling her closer to him. Her hands were around his neck as she tried to pull him closer as well. Emma could hear in the back of her head that steps were getting closer, louder. Like an alarm ringing inside her mind. Warning her. But she didn't react to it. She couldn't react to it. Only one thought was occupying her brain. Tom, Tom, Tom. His kisses, his hands, that were moving slowly, tastingly. The way they settled on her forearms like waiting for something.

And that something happened. The steps stopped, too suddenly, too close. Tom's movements were natural as he removed her hands from around his neck, looking unaware of the newcomers. Only looking at her with awkwardness written all over his face.

"What are you doing Emma?" He questioned in confusion.

His voice sounded so good to her ears, she was missing his heat, his warm lips on hers. She tried to get closer again.

"Stop it," he whispered.

"Emma!" The shocked tone of a familiar voice brought trough her mind and cleared the fog that was clouding her thoughts.

She turned around quickly, like she had just now remembered were she was and saw Laurentia standing there next to Devlin.

Devlin. His sad, angry face.

Laurentia quickly draw her wand and pointed it at her, "I knew it. You selfish little..."

Tom was quickly at her side, hugging her and calming her down, "Let it go Lar. She isn't worth it. Let's go."

"How dare you! We all stood up for you when you were sorted in this house even with your despicable blood. We accepted you as one of our own!"

"Lar calm down. We should leave. I'm sure Devlin wants to talk with her..."

"There is nothing I would want to do anymore with that mud-blood," Devlin spat hatefully and left the hallway not sparing Emma another glance.

Tom started to drag Laurentia to the next hallway as well, but before they left he tauntingly waved what was left of the chocolate he had previously offered to her giving her a wink, a winning smirk playing on his lips.

Emma watched stunned as they left the hallway. A feeling of despair was taking over her body and she slide down the wall, and stayed there. He had tricked her, so easily. He had manipulated Devlin and Laurentia effortlessly. That chocolate, he had put something in there. Emma knew she would have never acted the way she did if she was thinking clearly.

That wink was a mocking promise of a hell. That smirk was a winning satisfaction with no regrets. Tears started to fall freely from her eyes, suppress sobs shook her body. It was a reminder of who he was, a lesson of who she shouldn't have crossed. It was all a reminder of who she was. She stayed there crying as many Slytherins passed by her quietly.

End of Flash back

_"Thankfully Terry decided to take that hallway on his was to Transfiguration class, wanting to overhear some interesting conversations. He made me go to my classes as well, if he didn't I would have stayed there forever. God, I was so embarrassed. I _am_ embarrassed..."_

A loud bang as the door slid open informing Emma that Artemisa had entered her compartment.

"Hello there!" Tom's former sibling yelled happily.

"You are loud," Emma complained not taking her eyes away from the passing fields, trying her best not to start crying.

"What a warm welcoming," Artemisa commented brightly.

"I'm feeling down."

"Well, you would have to be a masochistic to feel happy to return to school where _everyone_ hates you."

"You are not helping."

"That wasn't my intention. More like, misery likes company and I thought that if you were happy I would be the only miserable person around here and I wouldn't have any company, therefore it's better if you are miserable as well..." Artemisa said.

"You don't look miserable to me."

"Well I am. The evil twins have got on my last nerve. Unfortunately Edwen doesn't agree that we should make them disappear in an _accident_. But back to the real reason I'm here right now. The book you asked me to bring you if possible... it's impossible."

"Why? You said before the winter break started that once you are back to the island you'll try to find it and sneak it out if necessarily."

"Exactly. I _tried _to find it. Couldn't. Since you saw _Tom_ reading it, and _I_ couldn't find it, it must be in the Dark magic library. The one that I have no access to."

"Oh... well, thanks for trying anyway," Emma said in a disappointed voice.

"Now to the real issue here. Why did you need a book on blood-bonds? Dark magic blood-bonds at that. I hope it isn't something like you trying to create a blood-bond with Tom so that you could be super, best, amazing, forever and ever friends."

"Of course not."

_"It's been almost two years... maybe I could tell Artemisa the truth... She wouldn't judge me. She knows Tom better then Terry does. She would really understand..."_

"Then?" Artemisa questioned.

_"Yes, I should tell her. I don't have anyone else I can turn to about this."_

Nervously tangling and untangling her fingers, Emma looked at the blond girl that was quietly waiting for her replay, "Promise me you won't judge."

"I solemnly swear that I won't judge you, even though I have a feeling that you did something extremely stupid, maybe even dangerous."

Emma looked at Artemisa not sure if the girl really meant it or was just fooling around. Whichever it was she was still going to tell Artemisa why she needed the book, "We are kind of already connected."

Artemisa just blinked stupidly as her, "Connected?"

"We already sealed a blood-bond between us."

"You did what?" Artemisa literally screamed at Emma.

"Sealed the blood-bond," she repeated quietly.

"What? When? Why? What the hell was wrong with you? What the hell _is _wrong with you?"

Her questions were answered with upset silence.

"Well? Answers! Now!" She ordered grimly, "Seriously, I would love to know what's wrong with your head. I can't believe I thought you were smart."

Emma sighed, "It was sometime after the winter break on our third year, and he tricked me into it."

"Of course he did," Artemisa agreed interrupting her, "The problem is that you let yourself be manipulated into making a blood-bond with him, even thought _you_ of all people should have known batter. Blood-bond with Tom! Tom Riddle! You have to be insane! But continue..."

"The bond wasn't a big deal..." Emma tried, but was interrupted by Artemisa again.

"Sweety, if you made a Muggle oath with Tom to bring each other a glass of water every year, it would still have been a big deal. I hope you understand that. What did you two vowed for?"

"I... I can't tell."

"You mean the blood-bond forbids you from telling. So this just turned into a massive, horror, _blood_ connected, most likely unbreakable oath. Good to know," Artemisa said sarcastically.

"Well anyway, I had agreed to it. It was supposed to be a test for the bond he will create with the 'Dark circle'."

"You knew about it?" Artemisa asked in disbelief.

"I know a lot of things, and the bond is stopping me from saying anything that might hurt Tom in some way. So he is free to do with me whatever he wants. Including doing what put me in the mess I'm certainly in and leaving me broken in million pieces."

Artemisa watched the curly-haired girl openmouthed. If someone had told her that the Earth is actually flat, it would still be easier to believe then this story.

"Well anyway. I agreed. We made a bond that was, as you know without me telling you, in his favor. And... I'm stuck with him now. Forever. Unless I find a way to break the bond."

"The only way to break any bond you have with him is by either killing yourself or him. Take your pick. I can't believe you, of all people would do something stupid like that."

"I know that..."

"Which means you wanted the book so that you can try to put yourself on the equal footing with Tom by turning the blood-bond in your favor," Artemisa concluded.

"More like I needed more information on how the blood-bond itself works."

"You are confusing me now."

"I already did everything necessary to put us in equal positions, even without all the information I needed," Emma explained.

"I would love to understand what you just said, but I do not," Artemisa admitted.

"It took me two months, but... I was capable of strengthening the bond so that it would be the same for both sides."

"But... But how? You were missing some essential information!"

"I was. So I explored the blood-bonds wizards can make. And linked it with the information I had from Tom about the bond we sealed. With that I was capable of putting us on even footing."

"And you are sure it worked?"

"Yes."

"Then how was he capable of..." Artemisa started to ask.

"Obviously according to the blood-bond and the oath he didn't hurt me. It looks like isolation and causing depression isn't counted in."

"What do you need the book for then?" Artemisa questioned.

"I don't know how to explain it," Emma said, "It's just... even thought our bond sees us as equal. We are not. Tom has more information then I do about the bond and is therefore capable of using it better then I could. Though, even if I knew everything about the bond, being the manipulative snake he is, he would still have an upper hand."

"I'm not sure if you are extremely intelligent or incredibly stupid or just crazy. You are like a girly, naive and innocent version of Tom. You are a complete contradiction of yourself. Do you have a split personality?"

"That isn't funny Artemisa."

"No, seriously. I adore you. I now feel obligated to find that book and get it for you. The evil twins have everything they need and still aren't capable of turning the bond they share with Tom in their favor. You did it in two months, without having every information that was needed. You are my new idol."

"I was doing something intensely risky. If I did something wrong I might have ended up dead," Emma said quietly.

"I still idolize you. Brave, daring Slytherin. I guess there is first for everything," Artemisa noticed.

"It's strange how I always end up being the first, isn't it?" Emma question, sighing.

Artemisa was making it sound way cooler then it was. Really. She had just found a hole in the oath and used it against Tom before he noticed it and fixed it. He probably hadn't even thought that Emma would try to do anything with the bond, let alone use it in her favor. He had been underestimating her. That's all there was to it. All the previous tricks she had pulled on him were small and not anything Tom would have watched out for anyway. But this one, making the bond equal for them both, that was the first big stunt she had done and, knowing Tom, would be the lest one as well.

"Wait... Does Tom know that you had found a way to make you two equal in this oath?" Artemisa asked excited.

"I think he does, but doesn't give a damn. While we were still on the good terms at the beginning of the fourth year, he had been caring that book around openly teasing me with it. That's why I think he still has the upper hand. Because he knows the details of the blood-oath and what kind of bond we share. And, I don't."

"God! I so~ have to get you that book. There must be someone in the 'Dark circle' who could get it for me."

"Artemisa, you don't know what kind of oath they swore to. Maybe they can't get you the book."

"Please, Emma. If what you said was true, and I think it is since you have no reason to lie to me, Tom would have used it to his advantage."

"What is there that he could use?" Emma asked in confusion.

"Well, according to what you said, you and Tom sealed the blood-bond sometime after the winter break on your third year. Two months later, while you were still on the third year, you successfully changed it somewhat. Now, if I am correct, and I think I am, Tom made the 'Dark circle' do the blood-oath that summer. Meaning after you had upgraded, so to say, the bond between the two of you," Artemisa was speaking in a voice full of exhilaration.

"So what you are trying to say is that... Tom left an opening in the blood-bond he created with them. But why would he do that?"

"It's so obvious Emma! You are moving between perceptive and oblivious in a matter of seconds. I swear you have a split personality or something," Artemisa complain sighing, "Let me explain. They wouldn't have agreed to an overly strong bond. Not at that time anyway. However they wouldn't question the oath they made either. So Tom made the oath sound acceptable while leaving an opening to make it stronger later if it becomes required without needing their cooperation."

"So I gave Tom what he wanted without even knowing it," Emma concluded.

"Yeah, that too. But he also left himself open by making the bond with the 'Dark circle' weak and waiting for a perfect moment to complete it. Meaning someone can send us a book without doing anything that would contradict the blood-bond."

"Though, you would still need to get the book without him knowing about it... And will you stop jumping up and down, you look like an idiot. Why are you so excited anyway?"

"I love~ when someone outsmarts that confident weasel!" Artemisa said in a sing-song voice.

"And here I thought you care about him."

"Oh, don't get me wrong, I do care about Tom. I love him as much as I love Edwen. It's just that you Slytherins had won ever single House Cup since I started Hogwarts. And mostly thanks to that little wicked snake. He turned ever single of my pranks, meant to take points from you, into a benefit for the green and loss for us. Not to mention he is so confident and arrogant all the time. I'm so happy someone outsmarted him. You are my new best friend whatever you like it or not. I love you as much as I love him. I wish you were my sister, we would have had so much fun. Seriously, why weren't you in Gryffindor? That way we would have taken the snakes down by now. Damn, luck just wasn't on my side..."

Emma just shook her head. Artemisa was literally jumping up and down on the seat, acting all hyperactive and smiling like a freak. She wouldn't stop babbling.

_"And she had called me strange when we first met..."_

"How have you done it? No fair, I want to outsmart him as well!"

"Will you calm down? It's not like it was the first time I outsmarted him," Emma commented nonchalantly, though she was also smiling.

"Not. The. First. Time? Will you marry Edwen or Tom please? I beg you. That way I'll get you as my sister in law."

"I thought Tom wasn't a part of your family anymore. Hadn't he changed custody more then two years ago?"

"It doesn't matter I still see him as my brother, so I'll still get you as sister. But you could chose Edwen too, I guess he'll be easier to live with. I'll have to get mum and dad to let me invite you to the island this summer, you could help me destroy the evil twins."

Emma just laughed. One of the many reasons she liked Artemisa was that the girl was capable of making everything funny and was acting casual even if death was knocking on her doors. Emma was aware that they were at war and that she probably worried everyday if her family will live trough it, and yet she successfully made it look like a peaceful time where she could joke around all day and plan how to prank the twins.

_"I guess we are similar in that way somewhat. I'm really happy to have you as my friend Misa."_

* * *

**Author's note: **10 159 words! (A/N is not counted in) XD

This chapter was long. I loved it (and am hoping that you did too)

Now, for less important stuff: I jumped two years in the future since the story was taking forever to finish. However if you object, I can write the things that happened during those two years (like normally, before this chapter) or add more flash backs. Just tell me.

As for **REALLY IMPORTANT** **STUFF:**I am going to vacation soon and therefore **there won't be an update on27th of Jul.** For _10th of August_... I don't know. I think I'll be back by then but depending on when I get back I might not be able to finish the next chapter. =(

That's all for now,

live some reviews and enjoy your summer... And wait I almost forgot!

SLYTHERIN WON THE HOUSE CUP *.* ON POTTERMORE! WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS (Yeah, I'm in Slytherin, you expected something else?)

And we'll be winning the next one as well =D

Congratulation to the rest of my housemates. As for the rest of the houses... _lo~ser~s~!_ No, Wait! I was just kidding. Ha,ha,ha... Keep following the story. 3

Congrats to you as well... and I hope you lose the next one too (What? I like to win!)

Till the next chapter

Ciao, ciao ^.^


	51. A Riddle for A Game

**51. A Riddle for A Game**

Early January morning was cold and there were barely any students in the Great Hall.

Emma was sitting few seats away from a little group of the older Slytherins, on their other side was Tom quietly eating his breakfast and completely ignoring her like she didn't even exist. Opposite of him was a third-year Slytherin, and further down the table two first-years. In whole there were only ten serpents.

It was same for the other tables. There were eleven puffs, eight claws and six lions.

For the first morning after holidays, the Great Hall was rather empty, even if it was only seven o'clock. And through the empty room it was easy to overhear the conversations taking places at each table. Therefore when a hushed whisper from yellow table broke trough the room it was no surprise that everyone turned to see what was going on. A puff was holding on Daily Prophet, before it was swiftly removed from his hands by his friend who started reading the article out loud.

It was an announcement of a mysterious death of the British Minister of Magic. Once he finished reading the article, there was an intense silence and then the Great Hall exploded with conversation, it was easy to forget that there were only a few people in there. They were all yelling, the now crying puff forgotten by everyone but his two closest friends.

"Do you thing it's you-know-who again?" A forth-year girl from Gryffindor table asked.

"It can't be. It's been forty years since Harry Potter defeated the Dark Lord," An older Ravenclaw argued.

Emma glanced at Tom. His face was unreadable. She could tell he was thinking about the new information he had received, but she couldn't see what his emotions about the news were. It was one of those moments when she could see thoughts and conclusions going through his mind in his dark orbs, but when it looked like he was thinking like a machine of sort, like non of it affected him in any way.

Her attention moved back to the growing argument.

"How would you know that? He once disappeared for ten years and then returned. He could do it again."

"What if it was a new Dark Lord?"

"Maybe his family wanted to get rid of him."

"What if people in Ministry decided that they should kill him?"

Suggestions were flaying in all directions as were the questions and answers. Emma saw that a Slytherin seventh-year girl was the only one besides her and Tom that was sitting quietly, thinking for herself and ignoring the crowd. If she remembered correctly the girl's uncle, an important individual in Indian Ministry of Magic, had died not long ago. Maybe a week before the winter break. It had been a rather sudden death.

Looking back at Tom, Emma frowned. He was eating his breakfast calmly, obviously done with pondering over the news with conclusion already sorted away in his mind for later planing.

Artemisa never talked about the war that was going on, but Emma already knew enough from Tom to keep getting more information from little clues the girl was unconsciously leaving behind. The war was supposed to be going behind the curtains of the magic world. Only those closely tangled in the whole thing should have been affected. But remembering all the deaths of the important faces in Ministries all around the world Emma had to wonder if something had changed.

Her thoughts were interrupted when she saw a fourth-year Gryffindor coming towards Tom nervously. Emma remembered that she had heard two Slytherin girls talking how Tom was free again, meaning he and Laurentia had broken up last night and explaining why she isn't with him now, like she normally was, but the news couldn't have possibly went all over the school already. Obviously they could.

The girl, that Emma recalled was named Agnes and was a friend of Artemisa's, stood proudly next to Tom as she greeted him happily a smile playing on her lips. Emma could feel a tingle of pity for the girl.

"Hi Tom! I..."

"No," Tom cut in without even looking at her.

"Sorry?" Agnes was confused for a second.

Tom turned to face her with a bored expression, "I won't go out with you the next Hogsmeade weekend."

"Oh. Then how abut Valentines?"

Emma watched as the girl smiled hopefully, oblivious to Tom's darkening eyes. She opened her mouth to stop him from being completely insensitive and remind him to try and be kind to the poor girl, then remembered that they don't exactly talk to each other and closed it, watching quietly.

To her surprise Tom smiled at the Gryff and answered in the sweet tone, "I'll think about it."

She saw the girl's thrilled face and wanted to face-palm. The girl was such a typical Gryffindor, she was completely oblivious to the fact that Tom had subtly refused again. Which is probably why he had acted all kind and caring in the first place. Sighing Emma got up and walked out of the Great Hall. She shouldn't be the one to judge, Tom played her as well.

She had barely stepped out the Great Hall when the two Gryffindor girls and a Ravenclaw from her year blocked her way.

"The drop out snake. Just the one we were looking for," Alice said happily.

Emma didn't answer, just blankly stared at them.

"We have a little something on our minds, that we think might interest you," Hana informed her.

"And what would that be?"

"Revenge," Elizabeth said honiedly.

Emma just raised her brows.

"You see, it couldn't escape our notice that for the past semester you and Tom hadn't been on the good terms," Hana started to explain, "And not to mention that you have been bullied by your house mates ever since Tom turned his back to you."

"Are you suggesting that I am a weakling that you feel you need to help me out?" Emma cut in coldly.

"That's not what Hana meant," Elizabeth jumped in, "What she was pointing at is that we share the same goal."

"If you think I will turn against my housemates, you are terribly wrong. And all the _bullying,_ as you called it, that my housemates had done so far is nothing compared to the cruelty Slytherins are capable of. I would rather not be on their wrong side. Besides, we do not share the same goal. You want to get Tom because he doesn't like you, and I am the only one who could help you, since you know nothing about him. You need help. I on the other hand don't need anything from you."

"So you don't want to get him back for what he did to you?" Alice asked in disbelieve.

"Even if I wanted to, I wouldn't be needing your _help_. But no, I do not want to get back at him. Now if you'll _please_ move out of my way. I have better things to do then waste my time on the likes of you," Emma informed then icily.

Tom watched as Emma left the stunned girls at the doorway. Curiosity playing in the deeps of his eyes. It was becoming painfully obvious to him that his isolation of Emma Rynolds had backfired. He wondered if it was the affect of the bond somehow. Because instead of becoming more insecure and withdrawn, Emma's confidence and independence had grown. She was learning to fight for herself. The way she had held herself all proud and cold irritated him. That wasn't the girl he had met on the train years ago.

_"The princess needed just a little push to turn into a cold-blooded snake. Guess I figured why the mud-blood is in Slytherin."_

Sighing Tom looked at his empty plate. At least she was still depressed and disappointed that he had thrown her away like that.

* * *

Tom had just exited the Great Hall when he heard a familiar voice calling him. Rolling his eyes to the ceiling he turned to face the famous Auror.

"Good morning Mr. Potter. To what do I owe the _pleasure _of meeting you here today?" He asked with sarcastic undertone.

"I wish to speak with you," Harry said looking at the teen that was standing there with a smile pasted on his face.

"We already talked once, few years ago. I have nothing more to say to you now, than I had back then," Tom said still keeping the smile on.

"Tom, I am not here on behalf of Ministry or headmistress or Dumbledore. I hope you understand that."

"Why can't you just let me be?"

"Because I realized I don't know you. I know how Voldemort would have acted by now. I know what he would have done. And I see so little of that in you. I lived trough a war Tom, just like you did. I don't want to see the Magic world in that state again. I hope you understand that."

"Once a hero, always a hero. How boring that is. Saving the world all the time. Don't you ever get tired? Don't you ever wish that the world would just save itself?"

"I need to know what's going on," Harry Potter demanded.

"Why do you think I know something?"

"Because even if you weren't the center of the happenings, you would be a side watcher. No matter what the difference between you and Voldemort are, one thing is the same. You were both afraid of death. That's why he had horcruxes and that's why you are now here. Whatever you two are the same person or two different ones, you both had a same fear. You would be watching out for anything that could endanger your life. That's why you know something. Prove me wrong."

"You see that is exactly where you _are_ wrong. I am not afraid of dying, I would just rather live. You know why? Because everyone can live and die, but not everyone can reach immortality. Humans' lives are but a grain in the sands of time. What really immortalizes them is their legend."

Tom raised his index finger and tapped his lips thoughtfully, "But lets make a deal Mr. Potter. I'll give you a little riddle about me and Voldemort. You'll have a week time to guess it. If you do, I'll give you a few hints about what's going on, if you don't... Lets say you won't remember me any more. A tragedy, really. For a war hero to go crazy in his middle ages, to forget about the battles he led."

Harry frowned, "I don't know what game you are playing Tom, but for now, I'll play along."

"Is't that great!" Tom clapped his hands once in excitement, a huge smile showing off his perfect white teeth, his eyes dancing with something Harry couldn't define.

Harry was confused by Riddles reaction. It was that of a child who just got a new toy. And for a moment he wished his scar would start hurting and show him what the other had in mind. The black-haired teen smiled devilishly, his dark eyes flashing with the fluorescent green as the winter sunbeams hit them under a specific angle.

"Listen carefully Harry, I'll say the this only once and the answer required won't be just a word or short sentence, but a whole paragraph. Here is the riddle: The two were thought of as the same, even though they one never were. One is the creator, one is a doll. Playing their parts to make a whole. The doll was meant to act in the finished play, but the script was thrown away. From the two who turned to be a player and who played; who had lost in a game. The theory in now up to you, but be careful to figure among the lies the one that is true," Tom said all of it in a sing-song voice. He knew he had given the Potter more then enough hints. He now had a week time to consider getting the Potter as his alley or getting rid of him for good. Another piece of the game that he would either try to get as his own or remove from the game.

Waving to the elder Auror in a fake happiness he said, "Until the next week Mr. Potter."

And left the hallway for his next class while removing the sound barrier that had been placed there previously. Harry didn't look overly surprised that Tom knew he had placed the barrier there and just nodded back before leaving the castle.

As soon as Potter was out of the sigh all emotions disappeared from Tom's face, like they were just switched off. He walked towards the classroom without any signs of ever having a conversation with the boy-who-lived.

* * *

That evening Emma was sitting in the library trying to concentrate on her homework from Rune's. But she couldn't. Her brain wouldn't stop replaying the even of that morning. The three girl were so bitter that Tom, the hottest guy in school, didn't even noticed them that they had passed to the level of stupidity. Like the three could do anything to Tom. He was way beyond their level. They couldn't hurt him even if he was in a coma with no-one watching over him.

She could.

Emma knew Tom good enough to know how to hurt him. She knew his strengths and weaknesses. She knew that mentally and magically he was almost impossible to outmatch. But she knew on what field she could beat him. She knew in which game she could outsmart him. She knew the game that they could play, the one that she would win.

It's the one game she had been planing to play for a while now, from the moment she became tired of trying to rebuilt her friendship with her housemates and sick of crying because she had fallen for such a simple trick. Being defeated is a temporary condition, giving up is what makes it permanent. And she haven't given up, not yet.

But she needed the book on the blood-bonds from Artemisa first. Or otherwise she wouldn't be teaching Tom the lesson he would never forget.

Oh, but she would be the one to make him fall, even if she had to destroy herself in the process.

She would continue with the game Tom started, because the truth is she knew Tom's game from the start even as she allowed him to manipulate her around, he might think that he had broken her and for a moment she had thought that too. But the game he played has just started and she would play it too; when it finally ends the joke would be on him not on her.

Tom had once, back on their first year when all Slytherins hated her for her blood, said to her words that she was whispering now to herself, "Don't ever allow yourself to be a doll, a jester in the hands of others, or dust that is being spread by forgetfulness. You should be the one that everyone remembers, the one that is always the last to smile as tragedy happens."

A soft laughter left her lips as she stared into the darkness of the labyrinth of books. The library will close soon, she should find a dark corner where she wouldn't be found out so that she could stay and study some more.

Her mothers voice rung inside her head warning her like when she was a little girl: _"Play a game with a devil and you'll get hurt."_ Twiddling with her wand she wondered just how damaged she would end up being after the game ends. Her excitement grew at the unpredictable and she quickly collected her books disappearing into the darkness.

* * *

In a small neath living room four older figures were drinking tee and discussing something in a hushed voice, or maybe better too say a man with glasses and mostly gray hair, with now and then black hairs showing their true color hidden by the age, repeated for what seemed to be a millionth time that night the same sentence, he was talking to his wife, "Jinny, I already told you we can charge him. We have no prof."

Earlier that same evening Harry had invited Ron and Hermione over to his house for dinner saying he had something important to talk about with them. At first he had wanted to exclude his wife from the topic, seeing how she was still very sensitive about the whole Riddle thing that had happened to her at her first year at Hogwarts. But he loved her and knew he could trust her, so he didn't. Now as Jinny once again started yelling about locking the Riddle up he started to reconsider his idea.

"I already told you the moment he stepped in Hogwarts again, his looks and name should be prof enough. And if you need another one, I have it as well. You have told us that you visited Ollivander again. The old wand seller had finally decided to tell you something he had been hiding before. Harry the wand Tom Riddle has is the same wand you-know-who used," she said angrily, "And it's loyal to him. Not to you. It should be yours since you defeated Dark Lord, and it isn't!"

Ron watched with narrowed eyes his sister as she rented on and on about how Tom Riddle should be locked up in Azkaban. He agreed with her, he had tried over the passed few years, since Tom Riddle's appearance, to convince his friend to do the same thing. He had been bothering Harry about it non-stop. When Jinny had overheard their conversation she started pushing him as well. But to no avail, Harry stubbornly refused to listen to them.

Hermione was the only one who seemed to be calm in the certain situation. She was thinking about the wand problem. From everything they had learned all those years ago from the old wand seller, the unchanging loyalty of the wand really was... she struggled to find the right word... out of ordinary, bizarre...

The wand _should_ be loyal to Harry. He had defeated Voldemort in their final duel. Sighing she turned her attention to the now arguing trio. Ron and Jinny were once again trying to prove that Riddle should be imprisoned. She decided to cut their little arguing match short.

"Harry," she interrupted evenly, "You said Tom gave you a riddle to solve."

Ron snored and mumbled something that sounded like sarcastic '_How fitting_'.

Harry turned back to her saying, "That's what I was hoping you can help me with. Tom gave it to me saying it should give me a few hints about his existence so to say."

Hermione nodded and ordered bossily, "Let's hear it then."

"The two were thought of as the same, even though they one never were. One is the creator, one is a doll. Playing their parts to make a whole. The doll was meant to act in the finished play, but the script was thrown away. From the two who turned to be a player and who played; who had lost in a game. The theory is now up to you, but be careful to figure among the lies the one that is true."

"Bloody hell! That guy is mental!" Ron voiced his opinion first.

Jinny nodded in agreement with her brother. But Harry hadn't payed any attention to either. He wanted to hear what Hermione had to say, because honestly, he was a bit lost.

But she seemed reluctant to voice her thoughts just jet and instead asked, "What are your thoughts so far?"

"My thoughts?" Harry asked confused, "Haven't changed since I first met him. He and Voldemort aren't the same. The more time I spent around Tom, the more sure I become of that. This riddle hints on the difference as well."

Hermione nodded repeating what Harry said, "The two were thought of as the same, even though they one never were. It does give us a hint that Tom Riddle isn't just a horcrux of Voldemort."

"How do you know he isn't just trying to full you?" Jinny asked irritated at the way the two trusted that Riddle would give them the answers they needed.

"He has no reasons to lie to us," Hermione stated.

Ron looked at her like she had gone mental, "No reason? Hermione, I understand that Harry had picked up Dumbledore's overly trusting nature long ago, but not you too, and now of all times!"

She ignored her husband and turned back to Harry, "What is bothering me is that the next part is in the contrast, or better to say it's in contradiction, with the first. One is the creator, the other is a doll. That's what you said. Which would bring us back to thinking that Tom is just a separated part of Voldemort's soul, even though the first part clearly stated that it isn't so."

"You know, when I saw Tom Riddle as professor McGonagall requested me to, the first thought I had when I saw him was it's not Voldemort. Even as my eyes and ears and my brain tried to prove otherwise, my gut-feeling was telling me that they are not one and the same."

"But that is impossible Harry. You said it your self. The Riddle that exited from the diary and the one from the memories and the one you saw now are looking exactly the same," Rom reminded him.

"I know Ron. I know. The Riddle that exited the diary also said that he is Voldemort. But this one... I don't know. I can't see what he is thinking of. I can't predict what he would do next. My scar doesn't hurt when he is near. When we first talked I tried to provoke him, to get him angry so that he might slip, so that I might see his thoughts. I couldn't. He was perfectly calm and collected. Taunting, laughing. The only thing that could be defined as scary was the overwhelming power. Power that was, from what I could feel, even bigger then what Voldemort had. I can't explain it. You would have to meet him yourself to understand. You would have to have met both of Toms to understand."

They quieted down after that.

"It's been on my mind for a while now, since the first moment you said that they were too different, but..." Hermione stopped thoughtfully, "What if at some point Tom Marvolo Riddle met Voldemore and one manipulated the other into the whole chain of events."

"Merlin! Hermione, the Riddle that exited the diary _said_ he was Voldemort!" Ron cried.

But now even Jinny seemed thoughtful. The Tom Marvolo Riddle a.k.a. Voldemort that had manipulated her could have manipulated another person with little problem, but... "Didn't Dumbledore one said that Tom Marvolo Riddle was the best student Hogwarts had ever had? I think one of you told me that he did. Do you really think such person would be manipulated so easily?"

Hermione looked at the redhead woman, she had raised a good point, however... "Jinny, it is one thing to be clever and another to be wise. It's like the difference between Slytherins and Ravenclaws, they both claim to be intelligent but their is a big difference between them. Though, being a Slytherin and the perfect student it is hard to imagine Tom Riddle being manipulated. But it is not impossible."

"Still the idea of the two meeting at some point fits better into the riddle. One is the creator, one is a doll. They played their parts to make a whole. It could mean that one created the whole idea and manipulated the other into it," Harry reasoned.

"That all looks too easy to me," Ron informed them," There has to be a trick in there somewhere. It stinks of a rat."

"That is the best theory we have so far," Hermione argued, then face-palming her forehead she added in excited tone, "I just noticed! The last part of the riddle! The theory is now up to you, but be careful to figure among all the lies the one that is true. Among all the lies! From this we can assume that Riddle either lied about some hints in the riddle or that he was telling us to watch out for the lies created over the period of time. If we take that later is the truth, and that Riddle didn't lie to Harry a single word when he gave him a puzzle to figure out, then it must be true that Tom Marvolo Riddle and Voldemort aren't the same person."

When she finished she watched excitedly to see what the others had to say about her theory, but when all she saw were blank faces (really her friends hadn't changed at all over the past 40 years) Hermione continued her explanation, "Furthermore, we can consider that Tom's hate of Muggle-borns is a lie as well. Made by an orphan boy to fit in the house..."

Jinny interrupted her.

"You think he lied that he hated Muggle-borns?" She asked in disbelief.

"I just think he might have hated the Muggles that he had to grow up with. But lets be honest, if you were to be placed in Slytherin as an orphan boy in 1936 or sometime close to that, you could only end up hating the wizards as well. Before he created a name for himself I find it hard to imagine a poor orphan being treated any better at the snake house then he was in the orphanage. Because in both places he would have been seen as different, an intruder," Hermione concluded.

They all watched her not sure if she had gone mental or was just pulling them for their noses. They finally just wordlessly decided to act like it was a possibility and Harry added information to support Hermione in her idea, "I guess it really is possible. From the last time I talked to Dumbledore's portrait two years ago, he seemed to think that Emma Rynolds, a Muggle-born girl who somehow ended up in Slytherin, and Tom Riddle are somewhat friends. Or as close to friends as he thought Tom could be with someone. I talked to Emma myself on few occasions and while I can say for sure what Tom thinks of her, I can honestly say that she did value him as a friend for some good reasons, that I doubt were just acts on his behalf."

Jinny was quiet for a while thinking deeply about all the reasons Tom Riddle was Voldemort, and she finally had one!

She voiced her thoughts, "I found the biggest hole in the 'two people theory' Tom Marvolo Riddle could speak parseltongue and so could Voldemort! Both of them were supposed to be the last heir of Salazar Slytherin."

To that nobody could have said anything. It certainly was a big hole. So for the rest of the evening Harry and Hermione decided to ignore that little fact while they tried to solve the puzzle while Ron and Jinny kept returning to it whenever there was an opening. They continued discussing all the possibilities late into the night until they were all too tired to think. They had agreed to give it some thoughts separately and meet again in two days for a dinner at Ron's and Hermione's house. As they wished each other good night Rom joked how old times are catching up on them. Harry honestly hoped that old times would stay in the past where they belong. He had a family to worry about, he wouldn't live trough another war.

* * *

A week had passed quickly as the fluid nature of time flowed by.

Tom had been excused from the classes that day as Harry Potter had requested from headmistress and was on his way to Three broomsticks. Once he entered the dim room that was oddly crowded for an early winter morning his eyes quickly went over the customers as he spotted the table that Harry Potter had occupied together with two others that Tom had never seen before, but had a good guess of their identities.

He casually walked to the table and took a seat without waiting for them to offer him to join them too.

"It's good to see you could join us Tom," Harry said smiling at him.

Tom wasn't sure if he wanted to throw up because of how much Harry Potter sometimes reminded him of Dumbledore, or just roll his eyes and thank to whichever god that was watching him that Potter was missing the brains of his idol. He settled at just giving a cold smile back and turning to the two new faces, "It's a pleasure to meat you Hermione, Ron. I'm Tom Riddle."

His voice was perfectly controlled and charmingly in between calm, happy and polite. He analyzed them with quick glance. Ron seemed rather annoyed and angry, constantly trowing suspicious looks in his direction and not letting go of his wand. Not very subtle.

Hermione seemed more calm and collected with only curiosity visible in her eyes. She was trying to analyze him and judging the way her brows slightly narrowed was having a hard time.

He returned his eyes to Harry potter who was calling for a waitress so they could order something to drink, after which they sat in silence waiting for their drinks to arrive. Tom's eyes were carelessly moving over the crowed that had grathered there to drink and laugh.

"So how is school?" Harry tried to ask good-naturally.

Tom looked at the hero not turning to face him completely. Why couldn't they just finish what they were there for?

"Easy," he finally answered returning his eyes to the crowd.

Hermione raised her brows. Easy? What kind of answer was that. Deciding to subtle move their non-existing conversation to the topic they came here for she asked, "But don't you think that the program had changed quiet some for the last hundred years?"

Tom turned to face her smiling, _"Is she biting? Or have they figured the riddle out? I guess it doesn't matter that much, it's not like it's a critical information considering what they know."_

His tone was light as he answered her, "Some thing have changed. But not enough to make the program any harder. Except history, professor Bins had perfected his way of boring students over the years, he has it down to the fine art."

Hermione didn't know what to make out of that answer. He openly admitted that he had been to Hogwarts once.

Harry laughed, "That can't be possible, he was already 'too boring to be allowed' at our school days."

"Trust me, even I feel asleep on his class last time," Tom said.

This time even Hermione had to smile. She could understand how he charmed all the professors so easily both back then and now. Tom Riddle really was a charismatic person.

The only one who still didn't seemed charmed one bit was Ron who was still suspiciously looking him up and down. But even though Harry and Hermione seemed to have relax some, Tom knew better. Being trustworthy is something he could have to work harder for with them. Few smiles weren't enough.

Their drinks were served and Tom turned to the famous Auror.

"So? Have you gave any thoughts to the riddle I gave you."

"Actually, I was thinking so much about it, that it gave me a headache."

"Poor brain you have then, it was an easy one," Tom commented nonchalantly.

"That may be," Harry admitted, "In our group Hermione was always the smart one."

"Let's hear her theory then," Tom said lightly turning towards the flushed woman, "Directly from you if possible."

He couldn't believe a woman in her fifties would flush because her best friend tole her she was all smart and mighty. But he kept his emotions perfectly in check.

Hermione watched him carefully for a few long moments, probably unsure where and how to start. Tom waited patiently.

"You are not Voldemort," she finally started.

_"Painfully obvious."_ Tom thought.

"You state it at the beginning of your little riddle. How ever you two are connected in a way. And as for how... I'll go with a crazy theory here that the other two haven't heard either and that crossed my mind when I saw you."

Harry and Ron looked at her in confusion. They had already agreed which theory was the most likely one and that it was the theory they would tell Tom.

Tom watched her calmly, playing with the straw of his drink thoughtfully, "I hope you understand that I wouldn't be giving Harry a second shoot if you mess up this one."

She smiled at him, "I'm sure I won't mess up."

The truth is she used the old headmaster Black, whos portrait she still had, to contact Dumbledore and hear some of the old man's ideas and thoughts. She hadn't told him the riddle since she wanted to be the one to figure the puzzle out, but after hearing some of his thoughts and memories she had a brainwave that seemed rather unlikely, though not impossible. After meeting the Riddle herself, she was sure that her idea was right at the spot.

"Well continue then," he told her, slight interest could be heard in his voice.

"Hermione, what do you think you are dong? We agreed on the theory," Rom spoke up way too loud. A few of the nearby guests turned to look at them.

"Quiet down Ron," Harry warned before turning to Hermione, "Are you sure your theory is the right one?"

She only nodded not taking her eyes of Tom who had leaned back in his chair and was nibbling the straw waiting for her to continue.

"As I said, you and Voldemort are two different people, but you did use the same identity."

Tom just raised a brow waiting for her to continue. His face was otherwise expressionless. So far he wasn't impressed. The famous Hermione hadn't said a single word outside of the obvious. She must be stealing for time, trying to read his reaction and decide whatever she should wind her luck and try her theory or stayed to the one she agreed on with her friends.

"At some point of your life you gave Voldemort your name to use... maybe even your memories, all in agreement that he would do what you previously planed for him to do while you disappeared. That would make you the creator and him the doll. The part of the riddle about the script being thrown away means that he did't end up doing what you wanted him to. He had thrown away the legacy you have created as a perfect Hogwarts student and used it to turn into the most feared Dark wizard of all times."

Tom still didn't say a single think and it was getting Ron a bit worried. Hermione was trying to stay calm sure in her theory and that Riddle was keeping his face blank just to keep her on edge. Harry wasn't even watching him, he was watching Hermione trying to find all the differences between her theory and the one the three had previously agreed on.

"You have somehow disappeared from the picture without anyone noticing. Since Voldemort ended up playing his own game, he was a player and you were played because you weren't even there. But the part of loosing the game doesn't necessarily apply to the one who ended up being played like I first thought. Voldemort lost the game, not you. He lost the war, and you are still here, however it is that you did it," Hermione ended with a winning smile.

Tom was still carefully watching her for a moment longer, then he looked at Ron, then Harry. Ron seemed to be confused, he was oblivious type so Tom guessed he missed the little differences between the theory they had agreed on and the one Hermione had told him. Harry on the other hand seemed thoughtful. He was probably considering the effects changes in theory had on the conclusion of the mystery. Looking back at Hermione Tom casually returned the straw in his empty glass and leaned on the table.

"So to sum your theory up to the most important parts, you think I gave Voldemort my identity so he can use it for something I had in mind while I disappeared from the face of earth. He, of course, played our agreement once I disappeared and ended up creating a disaster I had nothing with?"

"Something like that, yes," Hermione agreed, "Even thought it looks like you gave us lot of information, the truth is you gave us only the rough sketch of the truth."

Tom smiled, "True. But with the information I gave you, you created a rather... _interesting_ theory."

The trio looked at Tom almost without a breath as he stopped speaking and looked at the ceiling. Harry noted just how good at controlling the atmosphere Riddle was. He knew exactly when to smile, when to speak, what to say, when to stop. He knew when he should make a sarcastic remark, when he should look thoughtful. He was a perfect manipulator of the mood of those around him. Yet, Harry couldn't stop his anxiety as he waited to hear whatever the theory was correct or not.

Finally looking back at each of them before giving his full attention to Hermione. There was a devilish slime playing on his lips like when he had given Harry the riddle. He chuckled lightly, "Your theory is actually correct. Though, I _made an __agreement_ with Voldemort (_"__They don't need to know that there was no agreement but a failed experiment of mine to create my own clone."_) so that I could run away from the two wars going on at that time. The Muggle one and the wizard one."

"In the time of two wars..." Hermione repeated in disbelieve, "Just how old were you back then?"

"Same age as now," Tom said casually, "Fifteen."

The three war heroes watched him with disbelief. Fifteen? Alright, they had to admit they did a lot of crazy things back when they were fifteen but...

"Wait a second!" Ron suddenly said, "Just how the hell did you succeeded in staying so young? Looking like little innocent eleven-years old no less, when you started Hogwarts!"

Tom looked at the loud man, he really was annoying. Smiling gleefully he answered the mans question with taunting voice, "It's a secret."

Then looking back at Harry his face turned serious, "But anyway, our deal was that if you figure out the correct answer of the riddle I'll tell you what I think and know about the latest happenings including the death of the British Minister of Magic."

Harry nodded turning serious himself, as did Hermione next to him. Ron was still looking at him suspiciously and with rage obvious in his eyes.

Tom was thoughtful for a moment, "I guess I can call you on cheating since it wasn't you who solved the riddle but Hermione, but on the other hand I never said that getting help was forbidden."

"Just spill out what you know you prat," Ron barked angrily.

Tom turned his cold, calculating, dark eyes towards the older man, "Don't push me Weasley. I only have as much patience for your infinite stupidity."

Then completely ignoring the man he turned to Harry, "There is a war going on. Battles are taking place behind the curtains of the world you know as we speak. Honestly, I have no idea why someone suddenly decided to entangle the Ministries in the war. I have many guesses but those are hardly correct."

"A war?" Harry, Ron and Hermione asked in union.

"Yep, but our agreement wasn't that I tell you more about the war itself but the problems you are facing with I did..." Tom stopped in the middle of what was supposed to be a long sentence when he felt the door open and a familiar, powerful aura that was there. Turning his face to see if he was correct he froze.

A teen around his age and with unbelievably similar looks was walking towards him quickly. He had reached Tom's table so fast, and yet quiet, that most of the costumers hadn't even noticed him.

"Tom! What a surprise! I haven't seen you in forever."

_"You saw me less then three weeks ago when I was standing next to you as you killed your older brother,"_ Tom thought in annoyance, _"What are you even doing here?"_

"It really has been some time Diadalos. What brings you here?"

_"Read between the lines; Whet the hell are you doing here? Get lost!"_

"I was just passing near. Are those your friends?" He asked smiling at the elder trio. He gave Tom a taunting look before returning his attention to the war heroes.

"Sorry, it was so rude of me not to introduce you," Tom said sarcastically, "Those are Harry, Hermione and Ron. This is my _friend _Diadalos."

"It's a pleasure to meet you all," Diadalos voice was soft and pleasant as he spoke, even thought not a single emotion was shown on his face.

The three just nodded, smiled and greeted him in return.

_"Friends?" _Hermione thought,_ "Those two are similar enough to be brothers. Twins even."_

Her thoughtful observing of the two seemingly innocent human beings was stopped with tom's suddenly sweet question, "Why don't you join us?"

Harry frowned. He could feel waves of power coming from the boy standing next to Tom that he was having difficulty feeling Tom's magical aura.

"I would love to," Diadalos started in apologetic tone, though his face stayed as emotionless as ever, "But I have some other business here to attend to. Maybe another time."

He then lowered his head to Tom's to whisper something in the other ear. Tom had capt his face carefully blank as he listened to what the other teen had to say. He had also stayed quiet until the other left.

Once he was sure that no-one was eavesdropping on their conversation he turned to Harry with a serious face, "I need to return to Hogwarts soon. I can't tell you more then I already did. However, the reason you wanted to talk to me was because you thought i would gave you something that might be useful for a solution of the problems Ministry is now having."

He didn't wait for Harry to say whatever he was wrong or right, and he had completely ignored Hermione and Ron.

"Just be careful to place in every important position people who you know would be on the right side if anything bigger breaks in the magic world. You are their war hero. They should listen to you... somewhat. You are not overly persuasive."

Gathering his things Tom got up to leave when Hermione stopped him.

"Why did you tell us how you ended up here if you weren't really planing to give Harry any big information in return?" She questioned.

Tom turned to face her, "For an older woman who lived through a war you are rather naive Mrs. Weasley. But I'll sum it up for you. I want you of my back. It was getting annoying. Different people popping up all the time to demand answers. Besides I haven't told you half of the things that are there to be said about Voldemort and me. We barely scratched the surface of the said topic. What I really wanted was to meet you all and see if you could be of any use to me. I knew Harry would ask for your help. The famous trio. You relay on each other even in the old age."

He turned to Ron, "Don't even think about overpowering me. You could live for another few hundreds years and never reach my level Weasley. Harry knows that, only you don't."

Turning back so that he could face both Hermione and Harry he smiled, "As for an important information that you want so much... here is one; Salazar Slytherin is still alive."


	52. Coward

**52. Coward**

Few hours after his meeting with the famous trio Tom was walking down the road outside Hogsmeade with four figures quickly following him.

"Do you understand everything I just said?"

"Everything except the part of not informing lord Alkaios of this," Artemisa mumbled.

Tom didn't even bother to answer her, he instead stopped and turned to face all four of his followers, "Then Aremisa, Edwen and Adiy can move out and organize the rest of the group as I told you. Kohar, you will be staying with me."

"This is dangerous Tom. We are to close to the village. Someone might notice us," Edwen tried to warn him, but was waved off.

"You all worry too much. It'll be perfectly fine. Now move!"

As three of them disappeared Kohar and Tom continued further down the road.

"You know that Diadalos is most likely playing you, right? You are going to walk right into his trap," Kohar said calmly.

"It's a possibility," Tom admitted, "But it still might be worth a try. Creating another agreement with that bastard... The one we had before he killed his brother was more than worth the trouble. We had gathered a lot of useful information from him. Even Alkaios said that is was a good covenant."

Kohar sighed, she could hear her sister's thoughts, _"If I recall correctly Alkaios said that it was _somewhat_ a good agreement. I am going to call him even though Tom said we shouldn't."_

_"Adiy, do wait for a minute or two before calling him. While I can't agree with Tom that this is a smart move, he has a point saying that Diadalos won't attack right away."_

_"Right."_

Adiy looked at the siblings that were ordering the rest of the teens around as he had instructed, quickly moving towards the boy who would be closest to her she gave him instructions. He will be the one to deliver the message to Alkaios. As the boy nodded and disappeared Artemisa, who had noticed the exchange, stepped closer to the girl.

"Interesting... I thought Tom said not to tell Alkaios about the certain situation, yet you did it without second thought."

"What are you trying to say blonde?" Adiy asked irritated. Truth to be told, she was a little scared. She was sure that the battle would broke out and this would be the first one where she didn't know how strong her opponents would be and if she could win.

"Nothing much, just... I wonder if you could send me a _special _book once you returned to the island..."

The stars on the black night sky were hardly visible. The moon boasted its light among the vast emptiness. It's silver rays were falling on the snow cover trees losing the fight against the ominous shadows and leaving the forest in complete darkness. A small clearing was the only place successfully lighted by the silver light that was reflecting on the white untouched snow.

A lonely figure was standing there waiting.

The silence of the place was broken as few slow steps informed the figure of the new arrival.

"Took you long enough."

"Well good evening to you as well Diadalos. Impatient tonight I see."

"Humph. You are terribly loud even thought you are walking on a snow-covered ground."

Their eyes captured this scene as if it were in slow motion; their hypersensitive perception never missed a single move of the opponent.

Tom leaned on the a tree crossing his arms over his chest, "Only because this place is eerily quiet. Even old graveyards have more life."

"You never know, maybe there are souls of the dead here as well," Diadalos commented looking at Tom, _"Or will be soon..." _he added in his mind. He looked at the blackness of the forest before returning his dark gaze back to Tom, "Do dead frighten you?"

Tom didn't answer. It was quiet for a moment as both pairs of eyes looked up at the shining moon. The wind that was blowing was picking up speed chilling the bones with its cold breath.

"It's interesting that you requested a meeting so soon after the coup to get the throne I helped you with. I wonder what's on your mind."

"You can keep wondering then."

"You aren't going to give away anything? Not even a little hint?" Tom asked tauntingly.

"You are arrogant," Diadalos stated.

"And that should be my fall," Tom complemented nonchalantly.

If any strange was there to witness the scene on the little clearing, he would have thought that the two black-head boys standing there were friends, maybe even cousins, having a (strange) discussion.

But both knew better. They knew the danger of not being able to feel the real, powerful aura of the other. They knew that it was more dangerous without it in the air then if it was there already surrounding them.

These two extremely similar creatures were completely absorbed in their own killing  
feast.

Completely absorbed.

Concentrating the entirety of their awareness, their vigilance, their everything in their  
very own world.

They both knew that the other one had a back up somewhere among the shadows of the forest, but neither was paying attention to the inauspicious trees surrounding them.

Even when the fight starts, and it could be felt in the air that it was unavoidable, it would still be just the two of them. Both going in for a kill. Two kids of the demon trying to remove the other from their way.

Their genius mind were already planing every possible move... every way to escape the death.

"It's almost funny how death is so confident, that it gives us a whole life to try to escape," Diadalos said.

"I wonder who of the two of us would last longer in that dance."

"Your arrogance is making you predictable Tom. You'll be the first to go."

"We shall see. I don't like being called predictable."

Their conversation drowned in silence around them as snow started falling. The tension that could be felt in the air was so thick that it could be cut with a knife. One could swear that loud tick-tack could be heard on the small clearing even thought there were no clocks there.

Tick-Tack

Tick-Tack

Tick-Tack

...

Tom's heat speeded up as he felt swift change in the aura surrounding Diadalos. He barely had time to create a shield around himself before a strong flow of magic hit him.

The spell his the shield with a loud noise of gong, lighting the entire area for a second and blinding both of the boys on the field.

Tom quickly summoned his sword to his hand and blocked the attack of his enemy. The sound of metal hitting metal was the mark their back up needed. Both sides exited the shadows as the battle started.

The sound of steel and flashes of light, the trails of split blood in a matter of moments destroyed the idyllic clearing. Only minutes before untouched snow was now marked with red spots and troughs created by the participants of this terrible moment.

Kohar quickly looked around the clearing as soon as the chance for it appeared. She was worried. Thought she could still her sisters thoughts in all the mess they were separated. Looking around she noticed that there was only one body on the ground, of a person she didn't know. Sighing in relief she quickly concentrated back to her battle. She didn't have time to look around for long or she would be joining the lonely corpse.

The sudden electricity in the air got everyone's attention and they noticed the new figures appearing from the forest. The teens under Tom's command smiled relief. It was Lord Alkiaos with the back up. They watched as their enemies tried to disappear from the clearing only few actually succeeding. It was obvious that a spell was stopping the rest from doing so.

Artemisa looked around trying to see if Tom was still there, even that idiot didn't deserved it, she still wanted to check if he was alright. His opponent had been after all the strongest one on the field. The rest of the teens were slowly running away from the field not wanting to be in the way of the older wizards, and it was easy for her to see both sides clearly.

But Tom was nowhere to be found. And neither was Diadalos for that matter. She frowned. Diadalos might have been among the few who successfully disapparitioned away even with the spell that was supposed to stop them. But Tom shouldn't have had any reasons to disappear as well. unless he was trying to avoid Alkaios since his guardian was now most likely angry. Still... Her gut feeling was telling her that he run away moments after the battle started.

Feeling her temper raise she angrily stormed towards the other teens waiting for Alkaios or somebody else qualified to tell them to go back.

* * *

Once she was back at Hogwarts she wandered through the empty hallways in hopes of getting her hands on the idiotic gowk that run away and left them fight on their own. She was furious! How could he?! He left the kids (more like teens) he picked for his inner circle. When she gets her hand on his she was going to skin him alive!

Even thought it was midnight in one of the secluded hallways she noticed a figure sitting on the windowsill. Artemisa sighed, didn't Emma need sleep at all? Every time she was wandering around Hogwarts she would come across the girl.

Getting closer to her she noticed that Emma was holding some kind of a cube in her hands and turning its sides around.

"Hi there."

"Hmm... Oh, hi Misa. Haven't seen you there," Emma gave her a quick scan before returning her eyes to the cube, "You look angry."

"I am. Tom pissed me off."

"What did he do this time?" The curly-haired girl question curiously.

"His royal cowardly ass run away letting us fight alone in a mess he created!" Artemisa hissed angrily.

"Did he now? Don't tell me that surprised you."

"Excuse me?"

"I am just surprised that you thought Tom is something else then a coward. You should know that his life philosophy goes along the lines: He who fights and runs away, may live to fight another day." Emma stated.

"And I am surprised he can stand without a spine! I... I just thought that considering the fact how confident he acted before the battle he didn't have anything to fear during the battle. Diadalos is same age as you after all, I thought Tom didn't fear him."

Emma looked at the girl, "For a Gryffindor you do have a weird opinion on what courage is. Courage is not the absence of fear Artemisa, but rather the judgment that something else is more important. And as we both know, there is nothing on this world that is more important to Tom then his own existence."

"Whatever. Have you seen him?"

_"Yes, but am going to talk to him myself now that I know what's going on."_

"No. He is probably in common room or some place like that where you can't get to him."

Artemisa sighed, "I am giving up. I'll find that bastard tomorrow and strangle him then."

She had turned to leave but suddenly remembered something and turn back to Emma, "And guess what! I will be borrowing you a certain book tomorrow."

"You got somebody to send you the book on blood bonds?" Emma asked, her voice excited.

"Yep! Adiy. At first I couldn't believe when she agreed but, yeah, she'll send the book first thing tomorrow."

"That's great! And you always say how the twins are evil."

"Don't get me wrong. I still think that but am also using the moment of their good mood, or better to say bad mood. I think Adiy is also angry on Tom. Anyway have a nice night."

"Good night Misa. I owe you one."

Emma smiled happily watching Artemisa walk back to her common room.

_"So Tom disappeared and let them fight on their own... How interesting. He seemed to not be confident enough to win a duel against... what was his name again, Artemisa had just mentioned it... right, Diadalos. Hmm... I wonder how powerful he has to be to make Tom run away, or did that shady eel run off for a reason other then to save his skin..."_

Jumping to the ground Emma happily skipped towards the place she new she could find Tom at. It was time she started rebuilding their _friendship._

* * *

Tom watched as Emma took a seat next to him in puzzlement. She had been mostly avoiding him for the last couple of months. She ignored his staring now as well deep in her own thoughts. Neither wanted to be the first one to break the silence and it was getting slightly awkward.

Emma finally turned to look at the dark-haired teen. At first sight, he looked like a gentle-natured adolescent of slender build; but his features had a relative sharpness in them, making him the perfect exemplification of the word "handsome". He was smiling as if willing to accept anything in the world as part of him; yet at the same time his eyes shone without mercy as if he held contempt for everything except himself.

The smile caught Emma off guard. Why was he smiling? What was going trough his mind?

Tom was not completely rational and calm like a robot or a cold-blooded creature that didn't feel a thing about killing, or at least that is what she thought of him. But he was most definitely capable of such terrible act. He was human in a way. Harboring desires ordinary humans too would harbor, crossing lines ordinary humans too would cross on sudden impulses... And yet, he somehow seemed to stand above all of that ordinary human behavior.

He just happened to possess these two traits at once.

But the hardest part to deal with about Tom Riddle was that he knew himself, his pettiness included, like the back of his hand. Taking into account with full objectiveness every single detail he knew about the situation and about his own impulses, he would deliberately choose the worst possible route for the "others" in every situation at hand.

Emma spoke up, "You know what you are Tom? You're kind of on the bad side, but you are not completely  
evil. Yet, there's not a single ounce of goodness in you, either. Hm, how should I put it … you are that kind of person that people should avoid and maybe not hate, but dislike. And that was a compliment, you know.

However you are good at sensing other people's moods. You won't let others hate you. All you do is estimate their mood with precision and speak the words that waver one the most at the exact time no-one can bring themselves to hate you for saying them. You are good at coaxing and cajoling others. Rather than 'tricking' or 'deceiving', I'd rather say you're good at coaxing. So good that it's almost a waste. Really."

_"Anyway, the point is, never believe a word Tom says. There's not even an once of good will in his words. But then, his lies aren't any more palatable_  
_even if he says them with good will. Why did I once believe his then? Obviously because he can make everything that leaves his lying mouth convincing._

_He is always saying mysterious things as if he could read minds. He'll appear like a ghost every time something happens, and act as if everything's happening in the exact way he has expected but he is actually as clueless as everyone else beforehand."_

Tom laughed at Emma's description of him, "so you are saying that I am one hell of a manipulator, most likely capable of mind reading as well."

Emma blinked. She only thought about reading minds, she hadn't said it out loud. If he is trying to prove her point...

But Tom continued not waiting for her to say anything, "But Emma, no person can fully manipulate another. Even the same person makes very different decisions under different circumstances and at different times in his or her life. In fact, it's impossible to know what a person is thinking until the time actually comes. It's unpredictable. Which is what make's it so much fun."

"I still think you can read minds," She said stubbornly, "You read mine seconds ago."

Tom looked at her in confusion for a moment before grinning widely, showing of his perfect with teeth, "The reading mind part? I just thought that to be a perfect manipulator you would need to be capable of seeing what others are thinking all the time. I guess I can say that I read your mind just to freak you out, but it was just a coincidence."

"Why did you do it?"

"Did what?" Tom asked looking at her, it was strange how even after everything he did to her they talked so effortlessly.

"Left them fight like that, Artemisa was furious, and I as sure others are as well. Why put them in such a position only to leave their side?"

Tom stayed quiet for so long that Emma started wondering if he was even going to answer her. Not wanting to push the issue she quieted down as well.

"It's interesting," Tom started, "Exciting... thrilling! The games that is. And today, just like any other day for me, I began another _game. _The players have all shown up. The board was set. All I had to do was to roll the dice.

The biggest game I am now playing is breathtaking and dangerous. Once the conditions were made clear... the game began. It should go without saying, but during the game, I am pushing the chess piece in the direction that works to my advantage. This was just another hand that I thought i should try playing."

Emma made a face of distaste. Of course he would find the whole war as a source for his enjoyment.

"Come on, don't give me that face. You're making me look like an incorrigible villain Emma. Games are meant to be enjoyed. Am I right?"

"Not if they involve human lives," She said sighing, "You are the ringleader that places other in trouble and stays at the side in safe shadows to watch the show. You _are_ a coward."

"That may be. But it's a quality of mine that I actually like," Tom said smiling. He looked her in the eyes with an emotion Emma couldn't identify, "You know... I am actually glad that you are odd."

"That meaning..." Emma urged him to explain.

_"She's the type of girl that can be so hurt but can still look at you and smile, the type of girl who is willing to brighten your day even if you were the one who darkened hers."_

"Let's say it was somewhat a compliment," Tom said lightly.

"I have a feeling that it wasn't," Emma returned, but knowing Tom wouldn't explain himself decided to change the topic, "You know... I _can_ forgive you but I'm not stupid to trust you again, not ever."

"Not trusting me is the smartest think you could have done from the very start. After all, I am a liar."

"And a coward," Emma added smiling.

"Yeah, that too."

* * *

**Author's note: **Yeah, I am still alive. ^.^''

I am sorry that it took me so long to write this short (Yeah, I am aware that this was short chapter considering how long you waited) chapter. But my parents are the most disorganized people ever, and because of that I ended up computeless all summer! =.=

But I'm back now and slowly returning in my element. Like really slowly... because the fist part of the chapter was supposed to be bigger and the second part to be next chapter and now I'm stuck! I forgot what I wanted after this! (I mean the next chapter not the whole story, don't worry)

however the most important point is that I'm still writing, right?

And I'm sure that I'll be posting again in two weeks time as scheduled.

Anyway, I hope you all have a nice school year (I am starting university later this month - so excited!) and have unofficially (I want official results already!) became capable of being MENSA member (yes, I had to brag about it, I just had to)

Till the next chapter,

Ciao, ciao


	53. Aurors at Hogwarts

**53. Aurors at Hogwarts**

Emma and Tom were on their way back to the Slytherin common room walking in silence next to each other when they heard the steps approaching. Emma turned the first corner trying to escape before they got caught but was stopped by Tom who instead just pushed her into the shadows.

"Are you crazy. Someone will notice us here," She hissed at him.

"Shut it," Tom hissed back trying to hear the steps.

But Emma whispered again, "Do you hear that voice? It's familiar. I think mhmh..."

Tom put his hand over her mount giving her an angry glare before turning his attention towards the hallway. He could see two figures walking together and hear their whispers. Unfortunately they were to quiet for him to make out what they were saying. Since his attention was completely on the two figures walking down the hallway his hand let go of Emma as he tried to move closer to the them.

Emma sighed behind him.

She should just let him get in trouble on his own. Unlike her he could probably get away with wandering around school so late at night being a perfect. But she ended up reluctantly following him. The two figures had stopped walking moments ago and were standing on the bright part of hallway.

Recognition hit her and she quickly whispered the new found information to Tom, "That's Harry Potter."

Tom nodded only half-listening to her, he already knew that. He couldn't tell who the other figure was.

"And the other one is..." Emma started but stopped narrowing her eyes.

"Is?" Tom questioned.

"No idea," she answered blankly.

Tom rolled his eyes to the ceiling.

"Can't be a professor," Emma noted.

"Congratulations on stating the obvious. Now quiet down I can't hear anything because of your non-stop babbling."

"Who's babbling now?"

"Silence," Tom hissed.

After a minute Harry Potter and his companion started moving down another passageway getting further away from the two, as Tom gut up to follow them, Emma quickly grabbed his arm to keep him there.

"Are you insane? You'll get caught."

"Let go! I want to hear what they were talking about. I couldn't hear anything from here."

"They couldn't have talked about much. Considering that neither of the two had any reasons to be here at Hogwarts something must have happened, something that would involve Aurors coming. Something like... oh, I don't know... maybe the battle that had taken place on the small clearing next to Hogsmeade two hours ago. Does that make any sense to you?" Emma said her voice full of sarcasm.

"I highly doubt..." Tom started but was interrupted by Emma.

"If there is a chance for anything to go wrong it will, no matter how small the chance may be. And chances weren't exactly small this time around."

Tom mumbled something unintelligible.

"Couldn't hear what you were saying sweety. Care to repeat," Emma said in a sing-song voice.

"I hate you."

"Good. Wouldn't have it any other way. Now can we please move, I don't want to get detention because you were too depressed by your own stupidity to leave this spot."

* * *

"Isn't everyone rather chatty this morning. The Great Hall is so loud it could be heard all the way to the Slytherin common room," Emma commented as she joined Fabius and Tom for breakfast.

Fabius gave her a confused look to which she answered with a sunny smile, "We, and by we I mean Tom and I, are back on speaking terms."

"I wasn't informed of that. Thought, Tom is on the speaking terms with you Emma, Laurentia and Idris still aren't. You should watch out."

"Yeah, Lar is going to be pissed once she finds out. Especially since _someone _broke up with her."

She looked at Tom fully expecting a snappy replay about how it's non of her business.

"Are you pouting?" she questioned in disbelieve.

"He is. And will probably be in some self pity depressed state by noon," Fabius answered before taking another bite of his pie.

"Because..." Emma pressed for an explanation.

Fabius shoot Tom a questioning look before shrugging, "You'll find out eventually anyway. The school will be under constant monitor of Aurors from now on to Merlin knows when. Considering the fact that Harry Potter is the head Auror on the job, you can be sure that there will be no leaving school unauthorized. Actually I highly doubt it will be possible to wander around Hogwarts even during the day."

"That so..." (_"This isn't good! Adiy was supposed to send the book last night. If Aurors are monitoring the owls arrivals Artemisa could be in huge trouble, it's a Dark magic book after all. One that I'm obviously never gonna get my hand on."_) "Do you know if they are going through our letters as well?"

"What do I look like to you? Daisy? I only know what everyone else knows. Although, if I had to guess, I'd say that from today on our letters are most likely going to be supervised. Not that there is any point to it with talknet-mirrors popularity growing."

"Why such big interest Emma?" Tom asked suddenly deciding that the ongoing conversation was worth his attention. Worst possible timing as always. (Well worst possible timing for her, not for him.)

"My parents send me Muggle stuff all the time. As you know, big part of those is forbidden."

"I am not that oblivious darling. You are lying."

"Am not."

"You are a bad liar Emma. You always tap with your fingernails when you need to think up a lie," Fabius informed her bluntly.

Emma stopped her hand and forced a smile on her face, "Aren't you observant? Next time try to be on my side please."

"What is it that could possibly get you in trouble if the owls are being monitored?" Tom asked.

"Wouldn't you like to know?"

Tom smiled back at her, "Yes, I would. And you are going to answer."

Emma noted that Artemisa had just exited the Great Hall and quickly getting up said "Keep dreaming Tom. See yea on the next class boys."

Fabius watched her leave with curiosity evident in his eyes. Tom snapped his fingers in front of Fabius face.

"Do I have your attention?"

Fabius nodded looking at the two irritated dark eyes.

"Find out what that little freak is up to."

"I'm your friend Tom. Not your servant," Fabius said in bored tone.

"As my friend. Find. Out. What. Emma. Rynolds. Is. Up. To. _Please._"

"No wonder you have so many enemies with that attitude. Why are you so worried? It's not like she represents any risk to you."

"Call it a gut felling," Tom replayed shortly.

"Seriously Tom. It's not like Emma is powerful enough to be dangerous."

"Define power. Actually, wait. Let me put it another way. What makes _me_ powerful?" Tom questioned.

Fabius hesitated, that must have been a trick question, "Your magic talents and capacity?"

"Many have my magic capacity. You for example. Yet between the two of us I would win. So your answer is wrong."

"You're intellect and knowledge are superior to mine. That's why you would win," Fabius conceded.

"And with that acceptance of the momentary fact you would be one step closer to beating me. Not that you really are."

"Just skip to the point already. Our class is starting in five."

"My point is that I have a realistic grasp of my own strengths and weaknesses. My mind is my weapon. My ability to control, or as Emma would say coax, others to do what I want is what is keeping me on top. Now, who do you think has the most power?"

"The one who has the most knowledge. Information almost always mean power," Fabius responded, he was getting annoyed by Tom's questions. He wasn't retarded for Merlins sake! Or oblivious like Melfoy.

"And Emma has information and is quickly learning how to use that intelligent brain of hers. Which makes her dangerous. In a way she is less dangerous then you or... Diadalos, because she is nowhere near as magically powerful as either of you. And on the other hand she is more powerful then you because she knows too much. And she is more dangerous then Diadalos because she is less predictable at the moment. He is my enemy no matter how you turn it and from which angle you are looking. Emma claims to be my friend and could turn it around any time she fells like it. Or better to say would be able to turn it around if she knew how to get past the blood-bond."

"So you are worried she'll get the information she needs to become the most dangerous asset your enemies could have."

"Something like that, yeah. You can say that she was my underestimation of the century."

Fabius chuckled.

"I fail to see what's so funny."

"Oh, I don't mean to worry you but remember how you said that the only thing stopping her from becoming the biggest asset to your enemies was the blood-bond that she didn't know how to get past. I think she was handed the key few minutes ago."

Tom just looked at Fabius in confusion.

"Misa told me to give you a message but I only now remembered. She said that _luckily_, and I am quoting her words now, _The most important book had arrived before the Aurors started their monitoring and will be handed to the person that needed it ASAP._ And she also told me not to tell you until tonight. But felt the need to say it now."

Since Tom didn't respond but was instead staring at the empty wall Fabius decided that he could push his luck a bit further, "Does that mean that figuring out what Emma was up to is even more urgent then it was before?"

Tom stormed down the hallways mumbling something along the lines _I'll kill her, I am going to kill her_. Though Fabius wasn't sure if he was talking about Emma, Artemisa or the sender of the book. And he didn't exactly care either. He had warned Tom that trying the blood-bond on Emma was going to backfire. Unlike his _best friend_ he tended to overestimate people just in case they really prove to have more potential then they are letting out. Just like Emma did.

Tom's arrogance was really going to destroy him one day.

* * *

"Of course Mr. Potter. I would be glad to help you out," Emma smiled at the older Auror. Her smile however disappeared when she noticed her house mate walking towards her. Every single student older and younger was getting out of the way which spoke volumes about the magic electricity that could almost be seen around Tom Riddle.

Harry obviously picked it up as well as he turned to face the fastly approaching teen.

"Good morning Mr. Potter, would you excuse Emma for a moment," Tom asked politely his icy stare never leaving Emma.

"Good morning Tom," Harry responded. He frowned in concern. The aura that could be felt around was speaking of violence and it was obviously directed at Emma. Looking at the girl he noted a sly smile directed at Tom.

"Tom! Just the person I was thinking about. Considering the fact that Tom Riddle is the perfect of the Slytherin house, I'm sure he would be of even greater help then I was Mr. Potter," She said, "So I'll be leaving the two of you to talk. If you'll excuse me I have to go to the library before the class starts. Have a nice day Mr. Potter. I'll see you in class Tom."

Harry shook his head in disbelief. Tom Marvolo Riddle standing before him might not be Voldemort but that didn't make him any less dangerous. What was Emma thinking playing around with him? He liked the girl, she was smart and capable. Being a Muggle-born in Slytherin must have been hard. Or once had been hard anyway. He heard almost all the first years this time around were half-bloods, which in Slytherin was almost the same.

Tom started walking after Emma but Harry stopped him.

"Miss Rynolds is right. I would like to speak with you Tom."

"Does it have to be now?" He questioned looking daggers at Harry.

"Yes. Come on," Harry put a hand on Tom's shoulder leading him towards the empty classroom.

"You do know I have classes to attend to." Tom pointed out blandly as if missing a few classes was a minor inconvenience. In the long run it probably was.

"I'm sure you'll live. I can excuse you for your absence," Harry said lightly as they entered the empty room.

"You do know that Slytherins always hold each other back?"

"I'm aware of it."

"And you expect _me_ to rat someone from my house out?"

Harry just smiled.

"Or you expect me to rat myself out? Seriously, save yourself some trouble and don't even question Slytherins. Even the mud-blood won't tell you anything. "

"Don't use that term in front of me Tom," Harry warned him.

"Why not? It's not like you can do anything to me. You are not powerful enough," Tom pointed out.

"As you say information is power and I know who you are," Harry reminded him.

"You think you know who I am," Tom corrected, "Our reality is defined by the lies and assumptions that we create. It's not correct but only thought of as such."

"Hmm... you can drop your life philosophy for another time. I don't have time for it today unfortunately. I really do have to speak with you."

"To what do I owe the honor?" Tom asked sarcastically.

Harry's eyes narrowed, "What do you know?"

"Don't you know Mr. Potter that it's considered rude to answer the question with another question?" Tom teased, seemingly unaware of the situation he was in.

"Don't play games with me Tom. You have been involved in everything that had happened in the last few months. Maybe longer," Harry said.

It was silent for a moment. Light green eyes meeting the unwavering gaze of the dark green ones.

The dark eyes finally looked away in boredom. This action was followed by a sigh, "Fine, I give. I seriously have no idea what you are talking about... So what are you talking about?"

Harry could tell that Tom was being truthful in confessing that he was out of the loop. He hadn't proven Tom's innocence thought. And his gut feeling was telling him that the teen was hiding something else. He decided to give Tom a few information, "Last night three students were attacked. Two were petrified. One was killed. Does that sound familiar?"

Tom returned his gaze to Harry. It sure sounded familiar. It sounded like Basilisk to be more specific. When was the last time he saw Agrona? He would definitely need to go and see her. But how? With all the Aurors going around the school it's going to be almost impossible to enter the Chamber of Secrets. Potter knew where it was.

"Tom," Harry called his name asking for his attention.

"Yeah, it sounds familiar," Tom admitted unwillingly. At least Aurors weren't here because of the battle that happened right under their noses. "And let me guess the second you heard of the incident you thought of me. How flattering. However I am sorry to disappoint you but I had nothing to do with the accident."

"Who else do I know who would use Basilisk like that?" Harry questioned.

"Gee... I don't know. But I do remember telling you yesterday that Salazar Slytherin was still alive. Not to mention that there are spells that could have the same effect. Which is something you, as an Auror, should be well aware of," Tom snapped, "Maybe someone wanted to frame me. Did that ever crossed your _'chosen'_ mind?"

"Of all the people that know you as 'Voldemort', not a single one would use students to frame you. Let alone kill somebody."

"You just can't get over the fact that I didn't kill anybody since the moment I stepped into this castle, can you? It's the truth, even if you don't believe in it _Mr. Potter,_ I really didn't have anything to do with the death of the student. And you can ask Emma, who you seem to trust, to testify since I spent last night with her. Now if you'll excuse, I have classes to attend to. Not everyone can listen to your false accusations all day, as absolutely ecstatic as the idea makes me."

Tom walked passed Harry and exited the room. In the room the chosen-one sighed. He didn't like that Ministry was getting involved in Hogwarts problems. He tried to stay out of it but headmistress was sick and had asked for his help. Now new Minister of Magic had decided to put Aurors in Hogwarts as watchdogs.

He wanted to talk to Tom with intention to warn him, but found himself unable to. As much as he wanted to give the teen the second chance something would always happen and he would return back to watching the Riddle with prejudice. Maybe it was for the best. Maybe that reluctance would give him an upper hand later.

But Tom had mentioned Salazar Slytherin once again. Could the old wizard really be alive? Could he enter the school? It's not like Harry could tell the Aurors to watch out or search for the man without sounding crazy. He had no prof of the man's existence besides the word of not so trustworthy source.

He remembered Hermiones words from last night, _'If Tom Riddle is alive and well now, why couldn't Salazar Slytherin be as well. Though, it is highly unlikely. But Tom had no reasons to lie to us. However without any prof that Salazar is alive or dead (beside the big time gap) we can go assuming anything. I wonder if professor McGonagall would let me use the school library."_

Professor McGonagall! He promised her he would visit her and tell her what Aurors have found out so far. He couldn't believe she was so sick that she would retire as the head of Hogwarts. Sighing he left the room. He should find out what class Tom missed to apologize for taking the boy away to his professor, hopefully it wouldn't be Jastin Leanne, Arithmancy professor. That man gave him a headache last time he took Tom away from that class.

* * *

Emma closed the book angrily.

She couldn't read a single page in it. Not one! The language used in the book was completely new to her. It was written in some kind of runes, but non matched the ones she studied at Hogwarts. There were similar ones, yes, but that didn't add to her ability to read the book.

Sighing she looked out the window. The class would be ending soon and then she would have to deal with Tom again. She needed something to hold over his head so that he would let her keep the book.

...maybe even tell her with text on the blood-bonds she should try to decode. Or batter, get Artemisa to translate for her. Fliping through the pages she wondered if there would be of any use if Artemisa read the whole book and then told her about each blood-bonding until they figured out the right one. But the book was huge and that would take forever, not to mention that Emma needed details not general picture.

A pair of Aurors caught her attention as they walked through the empty snow-covered field. An idea slowly formed in her head. Looking back at the closed book she smiled.

This deal was the one that Tom would most definitively accept. And it would be more then worthy of the trouble she would have to go trough.

Now how was she going to get what she needed... hmm... Who of the Hogwarts professors trusted her the most?

* * *

**Author's note:**

Thanks to Guest and Tyran for leaving reviews. (Tyran guess you missed the update of the last chapter by minutes or hours =D)

I hadn't looked if I have any new reviews in forever (because you guys rarely leave comments) and was so happy to see two =)

As for this chapter... yeah I know it was once again short (Sorry T.T *hides behind Tom Riddle* he is guilty! *Tom glares at me* Well you are! I was rereading memories about you and was excited about new chapters on pottermore and being a Slytherin had to earn points or you would have been disappointed and wouldn't want to be in my story any more T.T *Tom rolls his (gorgeous dark green) eyes* Tom: Ignore her. Me again: Don't ignore me leave a comment again! Please 0=) *Tom drags me out* Me yelling and waving:)

Till the next chapter,

Ciao, ciao ^.^


	54. Memories

**54. Memories**

As her last class for the day ended Emma watched other students leave the classroom.

Tom was still sitting, his things around him, and writing something while Fabius went and leaned on the door frame. She had successfully avoided both teens that all day, but now, she knew she had to make a deal with the devil or she would lose her only chance of getting the information she badly wanted.

She watched Fabius close the door once all the other students had left.

It was silent for a moment. Only sound heard was scratching of feather on pergament. Fabius stayed by the door, seemingly unwilling, and leaned on them. Emma could hear her own heart beats as they got louder and louder in her ears. She could feel the tension in the air, though she was probably the only one.

"Great," Tom said cheerfully, putting his feather aside.

With one wave of his wand all of his stuff packed in his backpack that he left on the table as he walked towards her.

"Now, dearest, you have something that I want back."

Tom reach out with his hand excepting her to just return the book. Well, Emma had to admit that if she was anyone else, she would have probably done just that. But as it is, she had no intention of returning the book before she read what she wanted, nolens volens.

"You can't possibly except me to just hand you the book?" She said looking him in the eyes, "You should know me better than that."

"I can just take it by force. If you think I have patience for your games you are wrong."

"Actually I don't have a game in mind, more a... proposal of sorts."

"Why would _I_ make any deals with _you_?" Tom questioned.

"Oh, but this _proposition_ is such an _interesting_ one. I'm sure you'll _love _it."

Tom's eyes narrowed. He violently lower his hands on the table and a loud bang rung through the room, "I want the book Emma. _Now!_"

His angry attitude wasn't enough to make Emma back down, but it almost made her flinch, almost. It was a warrning that he really was out of patience and on brink of exploding. Which she knew would end up terrible for her. She decided to tell him her bargain.

"I can get into the headmistress office where I know something of interest for you is. And I could get that something. But in return you would show me which blood-bond we share from the book and let me keep the book for a week."

"And what of interest could possibly be in the head's office?" Tom questioned skeptically.

She got him to talk and consider her offer. She had him know!

"Memories," She said simply willing to keep him asking, involved in the conversations.

"Memories?" He repeated in confusion.

"Yes, Tom. Memories. Memories that Dumbledore had collected on Tom Marvolo Riddle, the Riddle that he thought was you. Memories on the Dark Lord."

"Why do you think _I _would want such a thing?"

"Are you saying you don't?" Emma asked in fake disbelief.

Fabius snickered and Tom turned to look at him. He shook his head still smiling so Tom returned his gaze to Emma.

"And how exactly do you plan to steal from the headmistress office?" He questioned.

"Well if I told you that, then you wouldn't be needing me and could probably perform the plan yourself, probably but not overly likely... and the idea is kind of mine so I'm not telling you."

"So _you_ want _me_ to let you have the book for the _whole week_ and then you would _try_ to get the memories. There is a _big_ possibility you would fail and I would get _noting_ in return."

Emma watched his face for a moment as if considering something. Then with a sigh she offered more information, "The book is in the Room of Requirement at the moment and don't try to get it 'cause you would only waste your time. Since you can't get the book back I'll first try to get the memories. When I get them, you'll tell me the page of the book where the chapter starts."

"And how do I know you'll return the book in a week time?" Tom questioned.

"Between the two of us I think we know who is the one keeping the promises and who is breaking them. Also my time with the book will be timed after I get the memories and I will not try to read the book until then." Emma said sweetly.

Tom just silently watched her for a few long moments before shrugging, "Have it your way then."

As he and Fabius left the room Emma took out her talk-net mirror and called Artemisa telling her about the deal.

Outside Fabius watched Tom's face carefully. Even though he had seemed eager to get the book all day, he was completely calm now.

"Are you alright with it?" He finally asked.

"With what?"

"With the deal. You seemed in rush to get the book back this morning, but now you look like you couldn't care less."

"Hmm... That so? The truth is Emma can't read the book and there is no-one besides me she can ask for translation. Not you, not Edwen and not Artemisa. As I am sure she is figuring out as we speak."

"Then why did you try to get the book back so forcefully?" Fabius ask.

He never was capable of understanding Tom's thinking process completely. He could figure something out, yes, and he could understand what the dark-haired teen was talking about what he explained something, even with all the leaps, and was capable of following Tom's seemingly random babbling as well. But for the life of him he couldn't figure out reasons for Tom's actions without further explication.

"I just felt like it," Tom answered nonchalantly.

Fabius highly doubted Tom's answer but said nothing. He knew Tom well enough to know Tom never did anything because _'he felt like it'_, he planed everything down to how many breaths he took each minute (not literally, but comparison was close enough). Fabius had asked out of curiosity more than anything else, and didn't care enough to push Tom for answers. He had just as enough fun having to guess what was going trough his friend's mind.

_"Tom was always thinking out of the box and analyzing every possibility and outcome. So knowing the outcome of this mess... What were the possibilities he had came up this morning..."_

Back in the empty classroom, Emma was leaning on the windowsill looking outside. Her talk-net mirror in one hand while she was tapping her fingers of the other hand on the wooden surface in annoyance. She had never predicted that Artemisa would be incapable of reading the book. And she couldn't get either of the twins or anybody else from the island who might know because that would either get Artemisa in trouble or would prove to be useless since Tom definitely empowered his blood-bond with the rest of the 'dark circle'. Adiy sending her the book was the perfect excuse he needed.

_"Damn him! He knew form the very start that I wouldn't be able of find anyone to translate me those few pages."_

Her plans A and B had crashed. Tom had destroyed both of them in one go. Time to think up of the plan C. There had to be someone who could read that book and who could tell her what was written in it. She needed to figure out how she could get over this new obstacle or she would be at Tom's disposal for the rest of her life.

One possible name was trying to break trough her refusal. She was wrestling with for and against thoughts.

...She needed more information... Maybe it was impossible... It was most definitively too dangerous... But still... hadn't she promised herself that she would go through her plan no matter what? She had. And she would go through it.

Getting up she left the classroom and went down the hallway to the library. It was still rather early and hopefully she could catch Edwen in there before the day ends.

Edwen Grey should be more than capable of telling her all about the connection methods used by inhabitants of his home-island. Hopefully she would be capable of learning some wandless spell for communication on the short notice. Tom might give her a day or two, maybe even a week, to get the memories but he wouldn't be waiting forever. Not to mention that if it took her too long, he would suspect something, or get all paranoid in the very least.

* * *

Emma had been all smiles and chatter all morning and Fabius was getting worried. She had left with Artemisa only moments before and he, Melfoy and Tom were the only ones from their age group at the Slytherin table. Idirs and Laurentia had been avoiding eating breakfast with the rest of them since Emma rejoined them.

"Tom, you do know she had found a way to translate the book or she wouldn't have been all sunshine whole morning," He tried to warn the indifferent teen.

"There is no-one who can translate that book for her," Tom said, his voice carrying the mix of arrogance with I-couldn't-care-less undertone.

"What book?" Devlin questioned looking at the two. He had been feeling a lot excluded lately. Idirs and Laurentia wouldn't talk to him because he wanted to get back with Emma, and Tom and Fabius talked about Merlin-knows-what all the time. He couldn't keep up with their conversations even if he tried.

"A Dark magic book on blood-bonds," Tom informed him lightly, like he was talking about the weather.

Fabius was surprised that Tom actually answered, but decided to put that fact away for later pondering.

"Why would Emma want such a book?" Devlin asked in disgusted voice.

"Why don't you ask her?" Tom suggested, "Then you could maybe enlight me as well. Since I have no idea whatsoever as to way she wants that book so badly."

"She is probably trying to get back at you for _something,_" Fabius drawled. Making sure that Melfoy too heard his every word. And he watched in satisfaction as Devlin frowned pondering over what a book on blood-bonds could have with getting back at Tom.

"Emma doesn't hold guards," Tom informed Fabius.

"No. She learned from you that it is better to just get even," Fabius responded.

"You are taking Emma too seriously."

"And _you_ are not taking her seriously enough. She had already been worth a month of headache for you if not more," Fabius reminded him.

Devlin interrupted their arguing asking, "Tom, Emma and you are sharing a blood-bond, aren't you?"

Both Fabius and Tom were taken aback with his open question. They never thought Devlin was stupid or anything, but they didn't consider him overly observant and smart either.

"So you do," Devlin concluded looking at their surprised expressions.

"Where did you get that idea?" Tom tried smiling.

"Humph. You get in some trouble all the time. And Emma is just weird like that. Cute, but weird. It sounds like her to get into some mess, that is completely unlikely for our age, probably because she was trying to be helpful. When someone puts you two together, he gets a recipe for an all out war of craziness," Devlin explained.

Fabius started laughing, while Tom just stared blankly at the now thoughtful Melfoy.

"Hmm... kinda like bunch of philosophical definitions of everyday things one gets by putting you and Fabius together, only on more aggressive level."

"Emma has been rubbing off on you Devlin. You are starting to sound strange like her," Fabius noted through his laughter.

Devlin smiled as he heard Fabius say that and the black-haired teen shook his head in pity. The mud-blood had the Melfoy wrapped around little finger. Glancing at Tom, Fabius sighed. If only Melfoy was the only one. She pretty much had Tom around her little finger as well, only in a different way then Melfoy and Tom was to arrogant to admit it.

* * *

Three days later Emma was spinning around in the Room of Requierment happily holding a thick leather book in her hands. She was surrounded by mirrors of all shapes and sizes. Laughing loudly she stopped in front of the biggest mirror in the room and smiled at her reflection.

Her cheeks were pink in excitement and her brown eyes were glittering. Her smile turned sly.

She had mastered the Esoptron epideiknumi not long ago. Artemisa had really been of great help, not even questioning Emma's motive for wanting to learn how to perform the spell. That girl really was naive for someone who grew up next to Tom.

It was time to set her plan into motion.

Her smile disappeared and she narrowed her eyes for a short moment. Questions creeping inside her head. What it something went wrong? What could go wrong? But Emma forced a grin on her face again. Everything would be right. Her intuition was telling her as much. She shouldn't start reasoning things out now.

Taking a deep breath she concentrated and called upon her magic to perform the spell.

"Esoptron epideiknumi, sullale* Din Stump," her voice rung trough the huge room and she watched as her reflection slowly faded away to be replaced by the grand room of a rich pure-blood family. The teen lying in bed was watching the mirror in confusion. _(*A/N: Remember the spell? It's used to contact people. Translation on my profile page)_

"Emma?" He asked in disbelief.

She smiled almost shyly at him, "Hi Din. How are you?"

His dark eyes narrowed.

"How do you think I am?" He questioned loudly, "You were there when Tom hurt me! You watched!"

He watched something flash trough the girls eyes, but before he could identify what it was it was gone, and Emma was staring at the ground, hair falling into her face.

It was silent for a moment and Din sighed. He had no right to blow up his frustration like this, especially not on Emma. He had threatened Tom with hurting her, and he would have hurt her without the second thought if that really would have given him an upper hand. He looked at the door of his room before returning his eyes to the mirror and looking at the girl again.

"What do you want?" He finally asked, his voice calm with barely noticeable hint of interest.

Emma looked up again, her face unreadable. Din almost shuddered. She really had been spending too much time around serpents. She was growing further and further apart from the cheerful dreamer he met on his first year at Hogwarts. That dreamer was turning into a cold-blooded snake as years passed.

She gave him a calculated look pondering over her decision to call him. But cognition that she had no other available choices made her speak.

"I wonder if you could do me a favor."

"Why would _I_ do you any favors?" Din questioned.

"Because it would back fire at Tom. You are the only one I can ask for help."

Din seemed thoughtful, then he nodded slowly, "Tell me what you need and I'll consider it."

Emma raised the book she had been holding and opened a random page, "Can you read those runes?"

Din nodded, "Yes. Those are encrypted runes of those we study at Hogwarts... with the additional Dark magic symbols."

Emma smiled happily.

Din on the other hand frowned, "Where did you get such book Emma? It's obvious from one sentence that the book holds really powerful and dark magic."

"Simply, I did something stupid and need to correct it," She quieted down thoughtful. She wanted Din to help her, she needed him to help her, therefor she needed to tell him the truth, to gain his partiality.

"Tom and I share a blood-bond that I know nothing about. I need to find out more so that I can turn it my favor," She admitted in one quick breathless sentence.

Din looked at her with unreadable expression for a moment, then he shook his head. He would need to contact his lord about this. It could give them an advantage. And to get the information on the bond they share he would need to help Emma.

"I'll lend you my knowledge of the runes. What do you need me to translate you?"

"I don't know yet," Emma admitted.

"You don't know?" He asked in disbelief.

"I'll have the information tomorrow night if everything goes as planed. Surely that won't be a problem."

"If everything goes as planed..." Din repeated, "Just what are you doing there?"

"Umm... You wouldn't believe me if I told you. I need to go now, my plan has moved into motion. I'll see you tomorrow."

She dispelled the mirror and watched as her reflection slowly replaced the room Din was in. She was aware that she would be handing Tom's enemies important information of a teen she once considered her friend, a dark-haired teen that she still somehow liked and somewhat respected.

A sting of regret for selling him out hit her with unexpected strength, but soon faded away just to be replaced with emptiness which she could easily ignore.

* * *

"Well then Emma, I'll leave you alone to talk to the Sorting hat," Professor Amycus Merrythought, head of Slytherin house, said as they entered the empty Headmistress office. Emma smiled shyly as she thanked the professor.

Really, she could have asked her house head to help her in translations. He was teaching runes here at Hogwarts after all. Though, showing the book to the professor, even if he was the head of the Slytherin house, would have most likely been more trouble then worth.

As the professor exited the office leaving her alone to _have a private conversation with the Sorting hat_, Emma looked around the office. The pensieve was still standing on the same spot Harry Potter had described to her on her first year when she had questioned him about Voldemort. She still wondered why he had been so open to her, but he had probably felt compassion or such for her being a mud-blood in the house of snakes.

Sighing she looked around the office once more. Why was someone still keeping all of the possessions of the long deceased headmaster was beyond her.

_"Never mind that now. I need to get those memories."_

The memories were sorted right next to the pensieve. She pondered if she should have just tried to convince Harry Potter to give her his memories for a moment before going quickly through the perfectly ordered glass vials. She heard the portrait of old headmaster speak up, "Why do you think you are doing Miss Rynolds?"

She took the memories she had come for and turned to face the painted image of Albus Dumbledore.

"I came here in hopes of getting the memories on Voldemort sir," she answered calmly. While she had already knew she would have to talk to Dumbledore about _stealing _his memories, she had yet to decide if she would be doing it from concern for Tom as his friend or as a suspicious housemate. She couldn't tell which of the two would get her the memories and which would get her detention or even expulsion. But as she had learned in Slytherin charm is a way of getting answer yes without asking a clear question.

Being vague is always better than being specific. Hopefully she would be capable of keeping the neutral side.

"And why would you want those memories?" Dumbledore question, all the other deceased headmasters of Hogwarts were now listening to their conversation, "If I recall correctly, some time ago you told me that Harry Potter and I should forget Tom's past, something how he has new life, new goals, new reasons. Then what are you doing here searching for the past?"

"I am not exactly searching for _Tom's_ past. But for _Voldemort's,_" Emma emphasized.

"Do you really think they are that different?" The headmaster questioned.

Emma quieted down. She wanted to say yes. To yell it to the portrait, but she couldn't. It wasn't true. She didn't see them as same, not by any means. But they weren't completely different either. Both Tom and Dark lord were cruel, both were powerful, manipulative. Both had inexhaustible thirst for more power. They were dark, dominant.

"If _I_ recall correctly, you warned me that some people aren't exactly who they pretend to be. You said I should watch out. Well this is me watching out. I..." She trailed off putting a weary face on.

Dumbledore was watching her inquisitively and anxiously for a few long moments during which Emma tried her best to stay calm.

When he finally spoke up his voice was tired and old, "The last few memories are from my meetings with Harry, to talk about Voldemort's past. Since I obviously can't enter the pensieve, I would like you to take them and look at them. I will tell professor Merrythought, that I had wished for you to see something. There should be no problems."

Emma watched him in confusion before shrugging and doing as she was told.

Memory after memory played in front of her eyes and when they finally finished and she returned to the Headmistress office it was already late at night. She glanced in the direction of the Dumbledore's portrait and quickly exited the room too spellbound and shaken to say anything.

As the door closed behind her she heard the Sorting hat say, "I shouldn't have placed her in the Slytherin. Not with Tom Riddle there once again."

She didn't stay long enough to hear Dumbledore's answer. Instead she run down the stairs and into the Slytherin common room hoping that, considering the hour, she would be allowed some privacy.

She would give Tom the memories she had taken tomorrow and be done with the past once and for all.

* * *

In the office Dumbledore asked few portraits if they could go around the castle in hopes of locating Harry Potter or one of the Aurors who knew where the man was. He desperately needed to talk to his apprentice.

Looking back at the now inanimate Sorting hat, he sighed. He couldn't blame the hat for sorting the way it did, but he did wish that the girl had been sorted in another house. Any other house.

It was her kindness that should have been feed and groomed, not her darkness. He knew Sorthing hat wanted her to gain confidence and learn to fend for herself when it placed her among the serpents. Unfortunately, she had embraced both the good and the bad of the Slytherin house and Tom Riddle was not the only one to blame. The Hogwarts stuff was as well. He was maybe to be blamed the most.

He had known the transfiguration that Emma Rynolds would have to go through in order to live out in Slytherin house and he had said nothing when Headmistress had brought the subject up. Just like he had done nothing but observed when Tom Riddle came to Hogwarts all that time ago. In the end all that he had taken to the after life are regrets and he was putting new stones on already big pile.

* * *

**Author's note:** First, THANK YOU ALL! I've tried those new sorting thingies fanfiction has now and according to the number of favorites on the story I am on the third page (which I find good), I am not as good when it comes to reviews... only fifth page or something (worst). (In both I defined I am searching for Tom Riddle and adventure)

I would like to say how I am going to write a huge special chapter as a thank you gift (I really really want to), but as you have probably noticed my chapters are shorter then before since I am lacking time to write (Only second week of university and all I do is study T.T , I haven't studied this much for my whole high school education!), and chapters will most likely keep this length (so sorry T.T).

Well, once again thank you all and

till the next chapter

Tschüs ^.^


	55. Realization

**55. Realization**

Next morning Emma shoved the crystal bottles with memories into Tom's hands, her face clearly saying, _'I want nothing to have with those anymore'_. Tom didn't question what happened, nor was he planing to. He couldn't care less. He was going to go through those memories, see what had happened in the past and be done with it, leaving it behind once and for all.

However, what did bother him was the fact that Emma had successfully gotten the memories. In all honestly, he thought she wouldn't succeed. He thought she would give up and return the book even in the unlikely case of finding someone to translate the pages to her. But besides the quiet whisper of the pages the bond was described on, he said nothing, he asked nothing.

He watched as the girl tiredly nodded and left, not spring him another glance.

Seconds ticked by as Tom's brain went over what-just-happened shock.

It hit him then that he was not getting the cheerful, naive girl back. He understood that, even thought she acted happy and caring, she had not forgiven him for what he did. He had lost her. He lost the most fateful friend he could have once had. He had lost that quiet supporter that he hadn't even known he appreciated.

But that strange feeling that he couldn't name as he watched her leave was quickly replaced with the feeling of worry. An instinct of self-preservation replaced the feeling of numbness. And he quickly dashed up the stairs and into the dorm trowing a first thing that fell in his hands at still peacefully sleeping Fabius.

"Wake up!"

Both Fabius and Devlin mumbled something unintelligent in their half-awaken state. However Tom completely ignored Melfoy as he threw another object at Fabius.

"Up!" he yelled again.

"Will you quiet down. Some of us are still sleeping." Devlin dragged, as Fabius lifter himself in a sitting position looking tiredly at his friend, rubbing his head.

"Shut it Melfoy, or I'll knock you unconscious."

Devlin just sighed and turned his back to Tom.

"Someone is in a bad mood," The other sleepy teen noted. He was already musing over the possible sources of Tom's distress.

"Find out what Emma is up to!"

And there it is. The source. He hadn't even had to ask.

"Why are you so suddenly worked up? Didn't you say she can't read the book? Therefore she is incapable of being of any harm to you... Because of your blood-bond, in case your mind can't figure it out so early in the morning," Fabius said, his voice too sarcastic for Tom's liking.

"Fine! You were right! I underestimated her! I was wrong! Alarm the media!" Tom yelled annoyed. He really was in a bad mood, or downright terrible mood more likely.

"So what made you change your mind?" His friend questioned, only half listening to the huffing teen.

"That little mud-blood got the fucking memories out of headmistress' office! How the hell did she even get into the office?" He questioned peeved.

Devlin was now carefully listening to what Tom was saying, and he got up in sitting position, his eyes following Tom's every move.

"She still can't translate the book," Fabius reminded him.

"What if she finds a way? She seemed dead set on figuring the bond out for some reason. And I. Want. To Know. The Reason! Damn it!"

"In which language is book written?" Devlin questioned curiously.

"Dark magic runes," Tom answered while spacing the room deep in thought. There wan't anyone was she could ask to translate those pages was there?

As is reading his thoughts Devlin suggested a possibility, "Maybe she got Din to translate it for her... His knowledge of Dark magic is vast, is it not?"

Tom froze in the mid-step. The temperature in the room fell few digress in a second and the whole atmosphere of the room darkened. He turned to face Malfoy and asked in an eerily calm voice, "What did you just say?"

Devlin blinked. He could feel the restrained dark energy. The iciness was rolling of Tom in waves. Furious Tom was not something he wanted to deal with. Not knowing what to do, he turned to look at Fabius.

The teen seemed calm, as if already resigned with his fate. He calmly spoke up, moving Tom's attention form Melfoy to himself.

"I'll try to find what Emma is up to. But I highly doubt I'll succeed. Emma sees me as a possible helper in figuring concealed truths out. Not as a close friend. Since she is refusing to go out with Devlin, he is out of question as well. But maybe you can convince Edwen to help you out. He might get Artemisa to tell what she knows."

Tom looked at him with an emotionless face, "I am sure Artemisa's knowledge is irrelevant. She might be a brat at times, but she would never betray me."

Fabius sighed, "I am well aware that both Edwen and Artemisa would rather die then turn their back on you. But Emma either served Misa a good lie, which I find hard to believe, or a half truth. Since truth is obviously out of question."

Tom left the room without another word. The door loudly banging after him.

* * *

Emma was sitting on a big blue armchair, quietly staring at the old thick book in her lap.

Words that Mrs. Cole had once, long ago, said, rung in her head again, _'Amy Benson and Dennis Bishop were never quite right afterwards, and all we ever got out of them was that they'd gone into a cave with Tom Riddle'._

Then Tom's words, _'I never did anything to little Amy Benson or Dennis Bishop, and you can ask them, they'll tell you!'_

And another part of Dumbledore's memory;

_'It's. . . it's magic, what I can do?'_  
_'What is it that you can do?'_  
_'All sorts,' breathed Riddle. A flush of excitement was rising up his neck into his hollow cheeks; he looked fevered. 'I can make things move without touching them. I can make animals do what I want them to do, without training them. I can make bad things happen to people who annoy me. I can make them hurt if I want to.'_

And another;

_'I knew I was different,' Tom whispered to his own quivering fingers. 'I knew I was special. Always, I knew there was something.'_

And another;

_'Is there anything in that box that you ought not to have?' asked Dumbledore._

_Riddle threw Dumbledore a long, clear, calculating look. 'Yes, I suppose so, sir,' he said finally, in an expressionless voice._

Then Dumbledor's voice from when he was talking to Harry Potter;

_'His powers, as you heard, were surprisingly well-developed for such a young wizard and — most interestingly and ominously of all — he had already discovered that he had some measure of control over them, and begun to use them consciously. And as you saw, they were not the random experiments typical of young wizards: He was already using magic against other people, to frighten, to punish, to control. The little stories of the strangled rabbit and the young boy and girl he lured into a cave were most suggestive. . . . 'I can make them hurt if I want to. . . .''_

She whispered to herself, "...His obvious instincts for cruelty, secrecy, and domination."

One last part of that memory went trough her head;

_'I trust that you also noticed that Tom Riddle was already highly self-sufficient, secretive, and, apparently, friendless? He did not want help or companionship on his trip to Diagon Alley. He preferred to operate alone. The adult Voldemort is the same. You will hear many of his Death Eaters claiming that they are in his confidence, that they alone are close to him, even understand him. They are deluded. Lord Voldemort has never had a friend, nor do I believe that he has ever wanted one.'_

She shook her head as if trying to make the words go away. She once again whispered to the empty room, "Tom isn't like that."

Her voice sounded too insecure, too weak.

Taking a deep breath, she tried again, "Dumbledore was talking about Voldemort when he said that. Tom isn't like that!"

Her voice rung trough the room; Echoing trough the maze of mirrors.

Emma sighed. Getting up she stood in front of the closest mirror. Watching her reflection. It didn't concern her whatever it was the truth or not. She didn't care anymore. She couldn't care... she shouldn't.

Taking a deep breath, she concentrated.

"Esoptron epideiknumi, sullale Din Stump."

Her reflection was swiftly replaced with another room where the teen around her age was waiting with paper and feather in hand.

"Took you long enough. I thought you changed your mind."

"I almost did," Emma admitted, opening the book and turning the specific page to the mirror so that Din can clearly read from it.

They both worked in silence for hours. Din translating what was written in the book and Emma writing the translation down while he wrote the original text. She already had a copy of the original text written down, and was hoping to return the book to Tom even before the time limit of a week expires.

Last night, had been restless for her. And she had released just how reckless and stupid her behavior and decisions so far had been. She could never outmatch Tom in anything. She could never trick him into anything. She would never be capable of getting back at him. Because for her, the dark-haired teen was a reincarnation of a devil. Compared to him, she was nothing. Emma had come to terms with those facts last night. She wanted to do nothing with Tom Marvolo Riddle from now on.

She only wanted to try and find a way to free herself from him. To find a way to run and hid.

Even if compared to some others she could be considered above average, even if she really was above average, she was nothing compared to him. Hell, she was nothing compared to people who were less then Tom was, people like Artemisa, Edwen and Fabius. She felt so small now. So fragile and vulnerable. Emma was incapable of seeing the potential that many saw in her.

She only wished for her normal life. She missed everything. Those long piano lessons with her mother. Family diners. Her muggle friends (more like acquaintances). The secure walls of her room. Her fathers stern voice trying to push her back to reality. She missed all of it.

But at some point she had crossed the border between that life and the one she now had, it was a pity she hadn't seen it back then, and now she was incapable of ever completely and fully getting her old life back.

* * *

Tom was sitting in an empty classroom deep in thoughts. He wished it was't weekend. He needed something to turn his thoughts away from the last few years he had been spending here at Hogwarts.

In the last few years, he had somehow grew apart from Artemisa and Edwen. He needed to correct that. He wanted the two to always be by his side. They were the first two human beings on this whole world who had accepted him, who never went behind his back, who never tried to change him. And he was replacing them. Replacing them with Kohar and Adiy, with Fabius.

Tom sighed, how had he even found himself in this chaotic and silly situation where he had something more with people surrounding him and not just a simple bond of mutual parasitism? When had it all started? Why haven't he noticed it before? Since when was he incapable of just using others and then throwing them away? Replacing them like objects.

When did all those exceptions to that simple rule of life started to appear?

Not long ago, he was incapable of naming a single being to which he had any sort of attachment. Now he could write a whole list. A list of at least 6 people, if one was to completely narrow it down. If not...

Tom didn't even want to think how long the list would have been.

At least, there was a comforting fact that if it was a life or death situation, the list would still be empty. But when all taken into account, it was a weak consolation.

And as to way Tom was sitting all alone in an empty classroom even thinking about the subtil changes that had happened over the years and that he had ignored without much trouble, well, it was mostly because of one face that kept reminding him just how much he changed over the years. If it wasn't for that one person that kept constantly reminding him of that little fact, he would have kept ignoring the change until push comes to show and he had to act upon those stupid feeling that were growing like an unwanted tapeworm inside of him.

Now then... what was he going to do with little mud-blood...

So far he had been gentle towards her. And she probably hadn't even realized it. He obviously can't kill her with their blood-bond protecting her from him. But the bond did not protect her from others. It would be so easy to get rid of her once and for all, even if she was rather entertaining. So easy to set her up. All the breathtaking possibilities... Or he could try and rebuild the trust she had in him. He could try and rebuild their crumbling _friendship_.

Diadalos was right, he really had been playing around way~ too much. But he was free to do so with Alkaios being the one who was in control of the island. With Alkaios still there, Tom was free to play around and experiment as much as he wanted so long he didn't get on his guardians bad side, which was something he had, so far, successfully avoided.

Artemisa, Edwen, Fabius, Adiy, Kohar, and other teens that were now his inner circle. All of them were his successful experiment. They were all fun! Interesting! It was trilling to manipulate them all to the best of his abilities and see what would become out of it all!

As for Emma Rynolds... she was the most exciting experiment out of all of them. She was the most unpredictable of all of them. A contradiction of herself! Two split personalities growing together in union, yet only one person, only those simple, learned opinions making her amusing little creature, who could understand everything and everyone, simply because she was so different.

What was he going to do with her...

* * *

"Edwen, have you seen Tom anywhere?" Fabius questioned as he spotted the blond boy entering the library.

"Hmm? Hi, Fabius. Tom? Yes, I talked to him an hour ago, or something... Do you happen to know what is going on? Tom had been acting strangely lately. He seemed to be making rush decisions, freaking out because of them, and quickly, roughly correcting them. He is completely off. Not a trace of the calculating, sneaky bastard I grew up next to," Edwen babbled more to himself then actually to the teen standing next to him.

But his babbling was right on the spot. The reason was, Fabius really had noticed that Tom seemed off lately, but had dismissed it as his decision to fool around by overreacting to everything. Because honestly, he couldn't imagine dark-eyed teen of being anything but coldly calculating and scheming snake.

"Yeah, it came under my attention that he was off. Although it seemed pronounced only in the last few weeks. Since after the winter break actually."

"The only thing that I know of that could have happened would be him helping Diadalos to kill his brother..." Eden whispered thoughtfully.

"Doesn't sound like something Tom would be bothered about," Fabius said, then something crossed his mind. "How is the decoding of that room going?"

"Not good," Edwen admitted, "Even though Lord Alkaios is helping whenever he has some free time, we are still having it hard. Kohar and I tried at least twenty different combinations so far and Alkaios had given us some book recently. It belonged to his grandfather, who had spent his entire life trying to decode the room. I wonder why he had never told us about it when we started the whole decoding project. Or why he never tried to decode the room himself. He had more then enough time."

"Do you think Lord Alkiaos has to do something with Tom's way of acting?"

Edwen just shrugged, waiting for some students to pass before he continued, "I don't think so. Even if Tom is capable of overreacting, it only lasts for few moments, and hour top. And his randomness in dragging out."

"Humph. Whatever."

* * *

Din watched as Emma's tired face and the room she was in faded away.

They had spent the entire day translating the text written on those old yellow pages. And now that he was done, Din quickly called for his master.

"Din?" The dark-haired teen questioned.

"I have the full description of the blood-bond Tom Riddle shares with Emma Rynolds."

"Is that so? Good. That was quick," Diadalos commented, "You would be returning to Hogwarts next month. Try to get your friend, Daisy to return as soon as possible."

"My Lord?"

"Don't worry Din, I already talked to your parents and your doctor. You'll be fine. As for Daisy, I won't make any contact with her. But she is your friend and as far as I was informed she seems to have a talent for gathering gossips around the school, and since it is the school Tom is going to, I want to know all of those gossips."

Din nodded, slightly worried. He didn't want Daisy to have to do anything with his world. Not anything. He wanted her to stay safe in her everyday magic world. But he couldn't argue with Diadalos' orders. He could only obey.

"Good. Watch out for those AUrors. I have no idea how long they will be staying, though their number at Hogwarts have lessened."

Din once again nodded to indicate he was paying close attention.

"Hopefully I will be joining you at that washed up school next year. Do tell Tom the good news once you return," Diadalos commented before releasing the spell and leaving Din to stare in the mirror in complete disbelief.

* * *

**AN:** Yeah, well that's it.

**Important: I (most likely) won't be capable of posting a new chapter in two weeks time!** (due to my university obligations)

That's all,

Till the next chapter,

Ciao!


	56. Love

**56. Love**

"You finally did it brother," Prometheus said excitedly as he read a letter over Pelagius's shoulder. He looked up to see the beaming face of his idol, his only family.

"We did it together little brother. I wish father was here to see this. It would make him regret everything."

"I wish so too. His last words still hunt me. To say that we were only a disappointment with his last breath..." Prometheus trailed off, his young eyes full of sorrow and hurt. Even after all the years that had passed, he still felt hunted by their father's shadow.

"We aren't like that any more. We never were," his brother tried to reassure him, looking back at the letter in his hand, "We are strong, and here is the proof of that fact."

He raised the letter smiling.

"This calls for a little victory celebration, doesn't it?"

"What calls for a victory celebration?" A lazy and slightly bitter voice asked from the door.

The brothers turned to see the familiar, yet curiously different face. An older teen around seventeen was standing there dressed formally, though he was casually leaning on the door frame watching the two teens with cold, distant eyes.

An expression of recognition crossed Pelagius's face and he smiled at the brown-haired teen, "Alan? I haven't seen you in ages! I am glad you could come."

The cold silver eyes on the other teen looked him up and down before he said in a mocking voice, "It's not like I had a choice. You are the _royal _family after all. At your service _my Majesty._"

His bitter and teasing words took two brother by surprise. Alan was their cousin after all. The closest one on their mother's side of the family tree. They had been very close as children and even though they hadn't seen each other for ages, they had never thought that their cheerful cousin could be this indignant, nor did they think he had any reasons to be. They were taken aback by his cold, sharp words.

Pelagius cleared his throat once.

"Why don't we go to the nearest salon to sit and talk a bit," He suggested, "I would like to hear how that school you have been going to is. It must be interesting."

"There's no reason to move from here. I plan this visit to be as short as possible. I need to go back to Hogwarts after all."

Prometheus couldn't take it any more. He couldn't remember anything about Alen since he had been only five when his cousin left the island with his family, but he knew from the stories that his older brother had used to tell him that Alen was kind and funny. The other teen had been the best playmate Pelagius ever had, his best friend that was always standing up to everybody for him. He could't watch his brother's hurt face when he heard Alen's words.

"Would you please explain to us you sudden hater toward us?" He questioned, his voice even, calm.

"Sudden? It's been years since we saw each other last time. You don't know me anymore."

"It was not our fault that our Father decided to force you to leave this place when our Mother died," Pelagius said sadly, "He forced every single one of Mother's family to leave. You know that."

"I am not blaming you for what your excuse for a father did to my family. You were fucking seven at the time. But you should stop trying to blame your father for your own insecurities and mistakes," Alen shot back icily, "He had died years ago. And I am being called back to this place only now. It took you years to get in touch with the only part of this messed up family that would have supported you when you took over the throne."

It was silent in the room once Alen finished his angry tirade. He was taking deep breaths trying to calm himself. Even if his family had been kicked out from this place, and even if Kleosnike were his younger cousins, Pelagius was still his king in a way. The naive teen still held power of life and death over Alen's head.

"What do you need?" He finally asked, his voice calm and his emotions under control.

"I was hoping to reunite this family once more, now that my hold over my heritage is certain," The older of the brothers said truthfully, "Now I see that my wish might be impossible. But that would not make me want to stop trying. I want you Alen, and the rest of our family that is still out there to return to your home. To return here, to this castle, or other respective castles."

"I'll pass, and I am sure the rest of them will as well," Alen told him coldly.

"Please, Alen. At least consider my request. I am aware that all of you had built new lives for yourselves out there. But the war is heating up, I don't know if it would stay hidden from the rest of the magic world for much longer. I wish for my family to be safe, and here is the safest place I can think of for all of you."

The cold silver eyes slightly softened as the sincerity in his cousin's voice reaching his ears. He then looked at the youngest boy standing next to his older brother with oblivious loyalty and admiration, before he returned his gaze to Pelagius.

"I'll make sure the others get a wind of your wishes and I myself will consider your plea," He finally said, a small genuine smile playing on the edges of his full lips. Truthfully he had missed his two cousins and even if he wished to, he couldn't stay angry at them forever. The two boys had it hard anyway.

He watched as both brothers sighed with relief and as heartfelt smiles embraced their faces.

Prometheus happily spoke up, "How about staying here for a tee? We should move to one of the salons. I want to hear more about that school you are going to. Are there like any supper, amazing kids ruling the place?"

His voice was excited. He had been home schooled and never had a chance to go to a school or be around that many children of his age.

Alen actually laughed, "There is one punk."

"Punk?" Pelagius smiled puzzled.

"Oh, right! You two are always stuck here and have no idea what punk means. One annoying little sneaky brat then," Alen elaborated, "He's on the fifth year now, in Slytherin, one of the four Hogwarts houses. His name is Tom Riddle."

He watched as smiles disappeared from both faces of his younger cousins in confusion.

"Tom Riddle?" They repeated in union, disbelief obvious on their faces.

"Yes, that's what I said. Why?"

"That's just not possible..."

"Excuse me, my lords. The letter have arrived addressed to you, Lord Pelagius," A man in his early twenties said with a bow, "It's from Tom Riddle."

Both brothers looked at Alen as if saying '_Does that answer your question?_'. But the letter hadn't answered Alen's questions, not one of them, if anything it made him even more befuddled.

Pelagius took the letter and opened it to read what Tom Riddle had to say, while Prometheus explained, "He is a legal heir of the royal family. Heir of the Alexandros heritage. Do tell what he is doing at Hogwarts."

"He is controlling the whole school. As to way? No idea. I can't believe he is a heir of such a powerful family," Alen said in disbelief.

"His letter is the most interesting one," Pelagius informed the two, "Guess, we will have to fill you in, and you us as well."

* * *

Diadalos was pacing grimly around the big stony room.

Six of his advisories were standing in the room following his violent movements with worried eyes. One man was on his knee near the engravered wooden double-doors, his head was still in the respectful bow as it had been for the last fifteen minutes. The only sound that was breaking the eerie silence were Diadalos's furious steps. No-one dared to say anything, or even move.

A little dark-haired teen was making them all sweet in anticipation from the coming explosion. Just a mare child to them, grown up men, most man over the hill. But that _child_ that they didn't dare interrupt in his angry pacing had the power of his ancestors protecting him the way no other royal family ever protected their heirs, and he had talents and power that would in time grow and put to shame all of them.

Yes, that dark-eyed boy was only seconds away from trowing a tantrum. One could smell the blood in the air. Taste it with one's tongue. Only a little push, and he would explode. They all stayed quiet, waiting for him to calm down. Hoping nobody would rush in and make him go off. But no such luck.

A silent, almost shy knock on the door made them all turn in the direction of the entrance. Diadalos's face was emotionless as always, only his burning eyes reviling his intense displeasure, his voice was calm as he called, "Come on in."

The door cracked open and little head of a ten years old child peaked in.

"Lord Diadalos, I am sorry for interrupting your meeting. My father sends me with a letter addressed to you. He said it had a note stating emergency."

"Hand it over," The young teen said coolly.

The men in the room watched as little boy stepped in the room shyly and walked towards the older boy quickly, jumpily, he gave a quick clumsy bow as he handed over the envelope.

"You are dismissed," Diadalos informed him not sparing him another glance as he gave his full attention to the oddly familiar beige envelope that had a big red _emergency _written on it in an unfamiliar handwriting in red ink. In the corner of the envelope was written '_To Lord Amandus'_ in a too familiar handwriting. The letter was from Tom.

The young teen saw red.

"Burn it," He mumbled to himself.

"My Lord, if I may ask, who sent the letter?" One of the man said in a silent craven tone.

"Tom Riddle," He informed them shortly, already moving towards the fireplace ready to trow the unopened envelope in.

Another of his advisers gathered the courage to speak up, "Shouldn't you read what is written? It is from Tom Riddle. It might be saying something good."

Diadalos shot him a cold glance. He already knew what Tom must have had written in it. Letter would be full of taunts and laughter for his loss. But he broke the wax seal on the envelope anyway. However once he opened the letter his anger multiplied. Waves of barely withheld ominous power radiated off of him. In Tom's elegant handwriting was a letter not to Diadalos, no. But to his older dead brother.

He turned the front of the envelope once more and saw letters appear, first the line '_To Lord Amandus'_ had been completed with _Zopyros._ And then address was added '_Graveyard of the Amandus family'._

He started reading the letter again, his anger only continuing to grow. His advisories had decided that it was no good to stay where they were with their young lord emitting dark waves of destructible energy and once they thought he was fully distracted by the letter started leaving the room. Poor man that had been on his knee in a bow up to this moment didn't even had time to stand up or even think of leaving before Diadalos scrunched up the letter in his hand, his cold blood thirsty voice ordering, "Stay."

He opened the letter once more as if to check for the possibility that something had changed, that there was a hidden message in it or something of the likes. Before he scrunched it up again and tossed it with as much force as he could master into his beloved crystal chess board.

Few of the chess figures fell on the floor breaking and the sound of the breaking crystal rung loudly trough the huge room. Clear sound hitting the walls and echoing in the ears on the poor man still kneeling near the door. That was the sound of his up coming doom.

_"How dare he..."_

Tom was no doubt doing this to remind him that his older brother, brother that Diadalos killed with his own hands, never lost a territory. Sure, he lost a battle here and there, but he never lost a part of his empire.

It was Diadalos that lost.

He lost.

He, not his brother. He.

...

* * *

Emma was walking around the library returning some books, when her path was blocked by Fabius.

"Hello there," He smiled lightly at her.

She only nodded in his direction as she tried to pass by him. He allowed her, though he followed her taking top book from the pile she was carrying.

"Transfiguration?" He questioned.

"It was for the homework we were given last week," she answered unblinkingly.

Fabius narrowed his eyes at her. The book was way too advanced to be for such a simple task they had been given last week. He leafed trough the pages, nothing caught his eye.

Emma stopped to return some books in the potion section before she turned to face him.

"What do you need this time Fabius?"

"Why do you think I need something?" The teen questioned in fake confusion, "Can't I just hang around with you?"

Emma frowned. She was scanning his face for any clue as to what his intentions might be, but draw out blank. It's been two or three weeks since Fabius started hanging around her. At first she brushed it off, since Fabius never really had any problems with her. He was neither her enemy, nor her friend. He was just there, existing as part of her everyday that she couldn't classify. Now she was reconsidering her decision to just let the dark-haired teen be. After all, even if Emma was on _friendly terms_ with the said teen, he was _Tom's_ _friend_.

Taking some books off the shelves she scrolled through the pages.

"Still waiting for the answer," Fabius reminded her, his eyes on the books she was holding.

Emma looked up at him again, meeting his dark gaze, "Every time you corner me like this, you are up to something. You want something. Therefore, I was wondering whatever it is that you want this time."

Fabius looked thoughtful after her explanation, "It really looks like that, doesn't it?"

Emma sighed, "You don't have to worry. It's not like _I_ can harm your _dearest best friend_," She said sarcastically, "Just ask Tom. The arrogant bastard will tell you so himself."

"Actually, rather ironically it's that ignorant arrogant bastard that thinks you are up to something."

"Oh, don't tell me. He finally acknowledged my potential for destruction."

"Something like that. Although, it might be that no-one tried to kill him recently so he is being paranoid," Fabius joked.

She just rolled her eyes at the comment. Knowing Tom like she thought she did, the statement might as well be true.

"I on the other hand," Fabius continued seriously, "Am not under momentary paranoia attack. I have warned Tom long time ago that you are going to be a living, breathing, walking disaster. Still waters run deep. It is unfortunate that he decided not to listen to me."

"It is amazing, the level of your capability of reading people. It's even scary sometimes," Emma admitted, "You are better at reading people then Tom is."

"That is mostly because I pay more attention to others then he does. He thinks no-one is worth his time or energy. And he is still million times the manipulator that I am."

"You could be as good as he is in almost everything. The biggest difference between you two is that you do not have the drive that Tom does. Your ambitions aren't as big. That, and you prefer to be the lazy watcher then the active doer. Am I not right?"

"He is more intelligent then I am," Fabius reminded her.

"Once you cross the line between above average and genius, the difference is negligible," Emma informed him, "The only things that matters are patience, persistence and will."

"Is that how you were capable of matching up to Tom?"

"Maybe. Though, most likely is the reason that he constantly underestimates me. He doesn't understand me the way I am capable of understanding him. Which, if I may add, is a great advantage."

"Intelligence lies in the ability of not being suspected of your crime. It's the kind of intelligence that you have Emma."

"If that is intelligence, then genius lies with the ability to make others suspect you of something other then what you really intend to do. It's that kind of genius that both you and Tom have," She countered easily.

They both quieted down for a while. Walking next to each other trough the maze of books.

Emma was the one who broke the silence, "I am really not up to anything, even if I once was."

"Why the sudden change of hearts?" Fabius questioned suddenly.

"I guess I decided that I should give up before I head for the hell without any chance of returning."

He watched her silently, measuring his next words, "Many of those who have fallen are people who didn't realize how close to success they were when they gave up."

"You want me to try and destroy Tom?" Emma asked, her voice puzzled.

"No. I was hitting on something else. I want to be your friend Emma. It doesn't have to be you or Tom. I can be a friend of both. And you, you should stop and reconsider your decisions for a moment. The main cause of unhappiness in trading what you want most for what you want right now. Stop to think what you want most Emma," Fabius advised.

"I am withdrawing from something I can't have. I am not running away," She informed him, "Staying isn't a wise action, when there is more reasons to fear something then to hope for it."

"Knowing you can't have something won't make you want it any less," He reminded her gently, "If anything, it would make you only want it more."

She looked sideways at him before looking straight ahead. She tried to ignore his dark, understanding eyes. Speeding up her steps Emma tried to get away, Fabius let her. He knew better then to follow her right now, he didn't want to be there when she breaks down.

_"She really is like some creature of light forced to live in hell, like a fallen anger. Her wings were broken by cruelty of those surrounding her, reality is driving her crazy. And yet, she is too strong to cry, too proud to admit defeat. It's a pity that you are so difficult to understand Emma, it leaves you without anybody there to help you... It really is a wonder that she is still firmly sticking to her ideals, because to me they seem so absurd and impossible to carry out. What is it that makes her unwavering under the pressure? How can she, in spite of everything that had happened, still believe that all humans have a good heart?"_

* * *

_"Kohar," _Adiy asked for her sisters attention in her mind.

_"Yes?"_

_"Can you please carefully follow my thoughts for a moment."_

_"Did something happened?"_ Kohar asked worriedly, searching her sister's mind for any sign of pain. But the only emotion was worry mixed with disbelief and disappointment. She concentrated on what her sister was seeing.

A book?

Hey! She knew those symbols! Those were the runes she and Edwen had been trying to decode for months now.

_"Did you find something in the book of Alkaios's grandfather?"_ She questioned.

_"This isn't his book Kohar," _Her sister informed her, _"I have found this book while I was searching for the one on the dead souls."_

_"You and Tom are still going about it? I already told you there is no such book in the library. You must have imagined it. You can't call souls of the death from the other world."_

_"Say what you want. _We_ saw the book. And I am going to find it. It's dark magic we are talking about, of course you can do something as unnatural as connect with souls of the deceased. But that is not what I wanted to argue about now. Do you recognize the handwriting of this book?"_

_"It looks familiar... but I can't place exactly from where..."_

Artemisa flipped the book to the beginning and started scrolling trough it again._  
_

_"Stop!" _Kohar yelled in her mind, _"Those symbols are in the exact same order as the ones on the pedestal. Return to the beginning again!"_

Back in her room Kohar was wildly going over her notebook searching for the lines of runes that were written at the first page of the book.

_"Here they are! That page is a copy of the runes carved into the door. Does is say what it means?"_

Adiy flipped few pages again, _"I don't know the language the symbols are translated to, but I think it's a warning... or not. No, probably not... Hmm..."_

_"You mean to tell me that the book has the translations?!" _Kohar asked in disbelief. She concentrated on what her sister was seeing again. The translation seemed to be done in pictures. She almost sighed in disappointment. But quickly stopped herself from being too disenchanted. Little pictures that actually look like something from everyday life should be easier to decode that runes that looked like nothing.

_"I am going to inform Tom and Edwen about our find. I'll be there to get the book in five."_ Kohar told her sister before quickly pushing her to the back of her mind.

Adiy had stayed in the Dark magic library looking at the handwriting. It was so familiar that it was creeping her out. She would ask Tom as soon as she gets the chance to see if he recognizes it.

_"It must be familiar because of some of the other old books I read." _She thought looking around herself, _"If only I could figure out exactly where I have seen this tiny elegant handwriting before."_

* * *

She was standing all alone on the Astronomy tower, barely visible in the darkness and with the snow falling restlessly. It was windy up here and Tom wondered if she was cold having only a dark blue coat to protect her from the freezing temperature outside.

The silence between them was familiar, and Tom didn't care to break it. He knew Emma was aware of his presence even if she didn't acknowledged it by reacting in any way. They stayed like that, she near the edge of the tower staring in the darkness and he leaning on the cold door staring at her.

What was she thinking?

Trying to figure out her thoughts at moments like this was slowly becoming his obsession and even though he was closer to understanding her, he was still miles away from understanding those silent moments, it irritated him.

"You aren't just going to let me walk away are you?" Emma questioned, but when she didn't get an answer after a long moment of silence she continued, "I want out of the game Tom."

"If you would elaborate, I could respond to that," He said calmly.

"The only way to avoid getting played is to outplay the other player, if you can't handle that you should get out of the game," She recited, "I can't outplay you. You won't be letting your guard down around me anymore. Therefore, I want out of the game."

"How about you just change sides. As you yourself once said, better the devil you know, then the one you don't."

It was quiet after that, Tom had walked to stand next to her in hopes of seeing what was keeping her attention so focused, but there was nothing but darkness, darkness and falling snowflakes. He turned his head to stare at her, waiting for her to turn and face him, which she did after few more minutes of empty gazing into the darkness.

Her eyes were huge and naive as always. Thoughts were flickering trough them too swiftly for him to read them, to try and figure them out. He wanted to know what she was thinking, he needed to know what she was thinking. She had met his dark unreadable eyes without a flinch. The darkness of his eyes was trying to see right tough her mask, to see the deeps of her soul.

Impatience was unbearable. He forcefully entered her mind. The walls protecting her mind were to weak to stop him.

_"...__Do you believe in luck, misfortune, coincidences, fate, karma, nemesis, destiny…? Do you believe in destiny?_

_...Run. Success. Money. Greed. Poverty. Kindness._

_...Do you believe in faith, , hate, antipathy, fondness, love…? Do you believe in love?_

_...Dreams, hopes, cries, pain, honestly, dishonesty, despair happiness, faith, doubt-dilemma-fear-confidence-assurance… Where are we going? ____Where are we going? Where are we going? Hopes, shuttered dreams, living, breathing, touching, feeling. Why? What's the point? Life has… no real colours…_

___...Walking up, sleeping, eating, working, walking, running… Going from place to place, for no apparent reason, because we have a life to spend…_

_...Black hair, like night, like darkness, a cold smile, confident, big eyelashes and green, dark but green eyes, full of secrets… Beautiful… Really beautiful…_

___...People, faces, names, identities… Me, you, they…_

___...There is a story about a princess that died as a gift to Gods. Myth really. It's such an interesting thing. It goes like this..._

_...If I touch you, will you feel me? No. If you touch me, will I feel you? Probably, not. Humans are social animals, not quite…_

_...Scientist had proven that little green berries of some kind of tree that grows in Africa..._

_...Wages of people were moving around every day, pointlessly, with no meaning. A grey wage. Day after day… non-stop…_

_...People are gray…They paint their selves with that colour because it's simply convenient …_

_...We're leading a boring life, with no meaning. Moving and moving… Not caring… People are scary, people are monsters… I really dislike humans… Dislike… despise… loath… They destroy everything... force you to let go of what you are... force you to be fake like them..._

___...Who are you? No… More like, what are you? Which colour are you? That's right. Which colour are you?..._

___...Is the world I see real? What does real mean? Am I real?..._

_...My name… What was it again? It's almost like it is forgotten. Aren't we supposed to treasure it? And what was your name? It had a didn't it?_

_...All things are supposed to have a meaning..._

_...Have so much homework... That last lesson in potions was interesting..._

_...Hope, such a fragile little thing, yet it keeps us all going. A word that means so much..._

_...Why? When? How? Who? Where? Questions, millions of questions..._

___... Remember the words... the words... Oh, I know! It was such a beautiful day..._

___...It's warm, no, it's cold… Am i freezing? Something feels strange…_

___...In this gray wave… I wonder… What color are you? Why can't I tell?_

_...I want to figure it out..._

_...Myths__, stories, religion, science... what should one believe in...  
_

_...When you close your eyes, what do you see? Your dreams are illusions you can't experience, your nightmares are fears that hunt you. But, what if you sink into a world of madness? Words, colours and you, running endlessly towards nothing. Sometimes you'll stumble, only to see emptiness under your feet; a deep, black darkness. Like living in chaos, with nowhere to escape..._

_... I wonder whatever Fabius was right or wrong..._

___...It's strange that there are creatures on this world who actually like to clean around..._

___...Then, you realize that it has no point to run anymore and even if it had, you don't fell like moving, you don't feel like you'll ever escape anyway. After all, the end never seems to come in sight and you can stand there despite the darkness under you, like standing on a thin layer of glass. And then you stay alone, between words and colours. Then the colours start to fade and you cling into the words that start to lose their meaning. Maybe that way you think that you won't feel alone, or maybe you're afraid that you'll lose your self along with them._

___...The darkness is consuming. Light... sun, mood, legends, stars..._

___...History... past, present, future, time... What is time?_

___..._

_...Worried? Is that how it should be described? Rain has no colours… It blends with everything around. Was there any reason to care anyway? Care... Snow has a colour... Can that blankness be called a colour?_

___...Enjoy, appreciate, be fond of, cherish, adore…_

_...Romantic? No, that's not it. Rain has no colours and it can be scary, engulfed into a sound it feels like you're alone while you can see everything around. Even so, when the word rain comes to mind there is no feeling of detest. Maybe rain is connected deeply with the world melancholy in mind. Sun, clouds, wind..._

___...warmth, fondness… Fondness? This word_…

_...The knight in the shining armor… A knight should say confident, right? A knight would be a knight even with or without and armor, without a horse, without a sword, without a castle… Though…_

_...Sometimes, when the night falls and you close your eyes, you see dreams; they are illusions of a reality you can't grasp. And sometimes, you see nightmares; they are fears you can't escape._

_... What was the name of the book I wanted to read again..._

_...What happens when you see the same nightmare over and over again? Running endlessly you're only left with words and colours. The colours are fading and the words start to confuse you, you realize you run for nothing, pointlessly, with no reason. Then you realize that there is only dark under your feet, so you cling on the words so you won't feel lonely, but that starts to worn you out, more that running, and you have nothing left to do._

___...My parents didn't send a letter for a while, I miss them..._

___...When you feel tired, it's okay to let go. You let your self sink into the dark bottom… Maybe into this darkness, you can find a dream, or you can hit the bottom. Either way, you'll never find out unless you strive to take this risk, trying to find your own escape though the dark._

_...There is a really beautiful place. There, you can close your eyes and feel a soft wind caring your face. Your mind is clear of thoughts and you can stay there with the one you love the most forever. This place is real, or so people hope. At least it exists at their very own dreams._

_...Many tried to reach it, few managed to seize it, some touched it but they didn't manage to enter. The firsts didn't care at all, since they gave up in the progress, it made no difference to them when they failed. The seconds were the luckiest. The thirds were the ones who got hurt the most…_

___...Love, affection, fondness, attachment, devotion, desire, attraction, obsession..._

_____...When you fall into that abyss you'll meet a dream, you'll be absorbed by it and then you won't be able to live without it. But in the end you'll still hit the bottom and you'll be desperate to go back, because you'll realize that once again there is only dark around you and the pile of empty words are of no use."_

Tom left Emma's mind feeling his own head spin. She needed no protection of her thoughts, they were too confusing, random and fast to follow. She didn't seemed bothered by the fact he had just entered her mind, or maybe in all that chaotic mess she hadn't even noticed him. She smiled.

"This world has no real colours, it was like that from the start…" The empty, almost lifeless eyes for one moment were painted by sadness. Inside her she knew that her thoughts were getting more and more confusing and day by day she was getting more and more lost into them. "I used to paint the wold to my liking. But I can't seem to be capable of painting you. Love comes with price… You lose your heart, for a start. Then you lose your mind in the end you lose your self," She kept on talking randomly like she felt no need to hide the flow of her thoughts, now that Tom had entered her mind, "Do you love me Tom?"

Her question was nonchalant, easy, natural. Like she was asking about the weather.

Tom didn't answer, he was still trying to regain control of his own thoughts. So Emma continued, "I think you do. You know why? Because love is giving someone the power to destroy you and trusting them that they won't. And that, my dearest, is exactly what you have done. Gave me all the power I needed to destroy you, and never gave it a second thought. You were leaving openings everywhere, believing that I trust you, that I wouldn't do anything. That is your biggest mistake, believing that I trust you. I never did. There is a difference between I love you and I trust you. I trust you is a bigger acknowledgment, we don't always trust the people we love."

She stopped talking for a moment to take in Tom's pale face.

"There are so many different kinds of love," she whispered at least, before turning and walking to the door. She left the tower, leaving Tom alone to stare in the distance in utter puzzlement and discontent.

* * *

"Lord Alkaios?" Mr. Grey called once he entered the big salon.

The whole salon was covered with fabric, save for the one picture. The picture in front of which Alkaios was now standing. The picture was a portrait of his long deceased fiance and his much younger self.

"I am glad you could join me Orlando," The old man said in a tired, serious voice.

"You called for me."

"Yes... I needed to talk to you."

Mr. Gray stayed quiet waiting for the older man to continue. But when he didn't, Mr. Grey asked, "About what?"

"I haven't been here, not once, since the moment Tom had found me here all that time ago. I didn't want the past to consume me, I wanted to be there for him... I can feel my time coming. I am too old to keep leaving. My family is waiting for me, like they waited all those years. I should have died with them, they are calling me now, they want me with them... And I will be joining them soon," Alkaios took a deep breath, "I still haven't decided on some of my actions, my last actions before my death. I have some last things to plan out. But..."

"My Lord?"

Quick intake of breath, as if in pain broke the relaxing rhythm of silence.

"My body is betraying me. I might not be able to finish everything I started. I might not be able to take every action I want before I die. Therefore, I wanted to talk to you now. To make you promise that, no matter what happens, you and your family will stay by Tom's side. Promise me that you'll protect Kohar, Adiy and Tom with your life."

"I will. You have my word," Mr. Grey said sincerely, his eyes betraying his worry.

"That is all I wanted. You are dismissed."

Once the door closed behind Mr. Grey, Alkaios spoke up again, "Penelope, my love, I will be reunited with you soon. Wait for me at the other side. Make my passing easier, painless. My dearest, I miss you. Once I am with you again, we will watch over those rash, fearless kids together."

He was going to use it, that spell. He knew that this was the end of his long life, but he will keep his promise to Tom, he will be taking Salazar Slytherin down with him. His only hope was that Tom would stop searching for power, stop walking aimlessly trough the darkness, stop going deeper and deeper into despair.

He made sure that the boy was surrounded by those who cared about him, who would be there to pull him back once he falls in too deep.

And maybe, just maybe, with that old eel gone and no-one there to ignite the fire of war, maybe the young kings that would be left behind could find an agreement. Hopefully, the deaths would stop. Over the past five years too many had died. To many orphans were left behind, Tom should be capable of understanding that, as should Kohar, Adiy, Amandus and Kleosnike.

They were all children left to fend for their own. And they were all in control of future of the war.

* * *

**Author's note: Really importante: From now on I will only update ONCE every month.**

****that's all

Ciao


	57. White king

**57. White king**

"Tom, do you plan to get up any time soon? We will be late for breakfast and out first class," Fabius complained loudly, "Even Devlin had left! Get up already, what's up with you?"

"My head is still spinning," Tom muttered from under the covers.

Fabius sighed in resistance, before asking, "What did you do this time around?"

"Forcefully entered Emma's brain."

"Dare I ask why?"

"I really wanted to see what she was thinking and..."

Fabius interrupted him, "You couldn't just ask?"

Tom ignored his snide remark and continued, "...it was seriously messed up. I mean her head is completely messed up."

"That's probably why she is still friends with you of all people."

Tom got up in a sitting position, "I am being serious here. Her thinking process is completely random and discontinuous. There is ridiculous, there is bizarre, there is outrageous, there is flat out wacky and there is her mind's way of operating. It's like she has... three or four different girls in her head all babbling in the same time. One being self-questioning philosopher. One being world-questioning philosopher... actual make that six, two of those are incorrigible pessimist and optimist slash artist, one is a pure cynical scientist and the last one is a normal average everyday girl."

"So you are saying she has a vastly split personality disorder."

"I don't know. It is rather easy to classify people with that kind of mental illness if you are around them all the time. Therefore I can't say she is mentally ill, but she most defiantly has some problem with her thoughts."

"Have you considered short attention span?" Fabius suggested.

"Yes, _Froyd_ I did. It isn't like that! All of her thoughts continue at some point. It's just like she is first thinking what she had for breakfast last morning that about how Michelangelo has most amazing sculptures, then she switches to thinking about fairy tale her mom used to tell her when she was five, after which she starts thinking about gravity then her breakfast again, then the story then about art again, etcetera. Her every thought continues after being interrupted by tons of other random useless information that afterwards continue as well."

"Have you ever considered how your thinking process looks like. From my point of view it might be just the same."

"I am aware how my thinking process looks like. It's bunch of information and logical deductions running in the same time. But my thinking process has a flow. One would need to have a really fast thinking process and be capable of following more then one stream of thought at once but my thoughts are still perfectly _organized_."

"Unless they are put into words," Fabius remarked, "Since you make millions of jumps and skips when you explain something. Have it crossed your mind that maybe that's just a way her brain deals with multitasking? By having quick switches between everything that is under her attention at a specific moment. I don't know about you, but I am certain I can't think about three or more things at the same time. As for randomness, it's Emma. I have come to expect that from her."

Tom's eyes narrowed. No, he hadn't thought about it. And even if that was correct (and he had to admit there was a big possibility that it was) it was still downright wrong for one person to hold so many different thoughts as her main momentary thinking process at once. If he had tried to enter her mind deeper, it would have made sense since memories would be mixing with emotions, opinions and thoughts. But he hadn't! He entered her most subsurfaced part of mind, the one holding thoughts of the moment, holding pictures and sounds of what was surrounding her right then.

...

"Come to think of it, our surrounding was only flashing trough her thoughts now and then instead of her having it constantly in the background of her thoughts."

"Hmm? You are sure it wasn't because of you mingling with her head."

"I've done this before. I am certain."

Fabius chuckled, "I am starting to see what Melfoy sees in her. It's unfortunate that I have already invited Kohar for the Valentine's."

"You did what?" Tom exploded.

"I haven't thought you'd mind. You don't exactly take the roll of an older brother with pride, happiness or anything of the likes."

"That doesn't mean I approve!"

"Since when do either Kohar or I need your approval?" Fabius asked. He quickly ducked to avoid a pillow that was aimed at his face.

"You can't date my sister."

"So you actually consider Kohar and Aidy your sisters, they'll be thrilled to hear that."

"I ditched Laurentia because I thought you were going to ask her out!"

"I wasn't aware you were that considerate. Actually I was under the impression you ditched her because she annoyed you so much that you decided it was easier to deal with your fan girls," Fabius said as he exited the room.

He quickly reached the Great Hall and saw Emma standing there mumbling to herself.

"Good morning Alice," He greeted.

"What did you call me?" She asked only paying him half attention (If even that much).

"Alice. I heard your mind fits the story perfectly."

Emma didn't bother to respond to that and instead continued staring at something in the Great Hall once again muttering to herself. Fabius turned to see what had her so occupied that she couldn't even stick out her tongue at him, like she normally does whenever he gives her a new nickname, and he frowned.

At the far left of the Slytherin table Laurentia and Idris were sitting next to Daisy Wenlock, who wasn't supposed to be returning to Hogwarts like _ever_.

"Guess that means Din will be returning soon as well. Tom will be so cheerfuller when he hears the news he might start crying the tears of joy," Fabius commented.

Emma stilled next to him, obviously registering what he just said. Sighing she looked up at the ceiling of the Great Hall, "Note to self, avoid Tom until he blows up his anger on somebody else."

"Note to Fabius, try to do the same," The dark-haired teen added trying to imitate her desperate tone, then he added in his normal voice, "Why thank you Emma for worrying about me. But you don't have to, I am sure will both be just fine."

"Why are you still standing at the door? You left like ten minutes ago," Tom cut in addressing Fabius before Emma could say anything.

"I give my body to earth and all my things to Artemisa. My dreams I'll take to the grave with me," Emma whispered to herself.

Tom gave her an odd look before turning to look at what Fabius was staring, "What is Daisy doing back at school? Don't tell me Din is coming back as well. I thought I have been clear when I said he better not put his foot at any part of Hogwarts property while I am here."

Emma looked at him, "That is one strangely calm reaction," she looked at Fabius next, "Daisy is coming here, I am leaving before he explodes."

"Why would I..." Tom started but hadn't had the chance to finish his question since Daisy chose that moment to join the group.

"Hey Tom. Long time no see. Since you almost kill Din in front of me if I recall correctly."

"Quiet down there are Aurors here," Emma hissed at the same time Tom said, "It would have been around that time, yes."

"I see little mud-blood is still at your side. Laurentia and Idris told me some rather interesting new things about you Emma. I never took you for a whore before. Nor did I ever think you, Tom, who can have practically any girl in this school would be going down with someone dirty like that thing."

"Excuse me!" Emma exploded, "We barely kissed you moron!"

Tom on the other hand was unmoved, "Yeah, we are sleeping. Jealous much?"

"I detest you. Why would I be jealous?"

"Why would anybody be jealous of that little bitch?" Laurenta chipped in.

"Last time I checked you would've killed ti be in my position Lar," Emma shot back.

"You wish. I fail to see why some noble like Melfoy is trying to get with you."

Daisy cut short what might have been a good cat fight addressing Tom again, "Din told me to give you two messages, one form him, other from Diadalos."

"And what would those be?"

"Din said he would be cutting you open the second he gets a chance, and will be creating a chance as well. And Diadalos said how he couldn't wait for you two to be classmates starting next year. Now if you'll excuse me, I have better things to do then waste my time here."

As the three girls walked away Artemisa and Edwen joined the group.

"Finally! I'll see the serpents pull knifes at each other. Guess your royalty will have to withdraw as a royal ass of all the Slytherins and the rest of the school," she said to Tom.

"Artemisa watch your language," her brother warned her before turning to face Tom, "If Diadalos really enrolls next year this could get ugly."

"It won't be that big of a difference. Just bigger group of our Aurors slithering around the school 24/7. The joy," Fabius said.

"Come to think of it have they found any clues about the incident? It's been almost a month," Edwen mused.

"Nope. Nothing. Why else do you think they are still here?" Fabius questioned.

"I am sorry to interrupt but I would like to speak to all of you."

The little group turned to see who it was that was addressing them. It was Harry Potter followed by his two best friends and one women that looked a lot like Ron.

"This day is getting better and better," Tom complained loud enough for all of them to hear.

Emma turned to him, "What did you drag us all in this time?"

* * *

Hermione closed the door quietly behind her and joined Harry, Ron and Jinny.

Emma was sitting across of them staring through the window, seemingly unconcern by the situation she was in.

Artemisa was lying on a desk not far away and her brother Edwen was sitting next to her. They were both looking at the Harry waiting for him to speak first. Fabius was leaning on another desk to Emma's left his arms folded over his chest, he was following Hermione's movements. Tom was leaning on the wall next to the window and hands behind his head in a position of relaxation. His eyes were closed and face perfectly calm and composed.

Only when Hermione took her seat next to Harry did Emma turn to face them. Tom still hadn't opened his eyes.

"So, what happened?" Artemisa questioned.

"We were hoping you could tell us that," Harry said. He looked tired and old, older then Hermione had ever seen him.

Jinny looked at the blond girl before returning her gaze to Tom, who she still had issues with. She wasn't the only one. Her brother was looking daggers at Riddle who was either ignoring it, or wasn't aware of the killing intent aimed at him. Hermione would bet it was the first one. The little group had formed a barrier between Harry, Ron, Jinny and herself on one and Tom on the other side. She caught herself wondering whatever they did it unconsciously or were trying to send a message. Maybe it was just Tom, he was the last one to take his place.

Fabius looked at Harry, "We can't tell you anything if we do not know what you are talking about."

"As you are probably aware by now, three students were attacked one month ago. One was killed, two were petrified. It was an attack typical for Basilisk," Harry provided. He watched carefully for any reaction.

Artemisa and Edwen had non. It was as if they were still waiting for further information. This little didn't mean much to them, even though they were most likely aware of the fact that only a parseltongue can control the Basilisk, meaning Tom Riddle. Obviously they trusted the Riddle completely and Harry probably won't be getting anything out of them.

Fabius had raised a brow, a motion screaming _'What exactly are you suggesting?'_. He definitively knew Tom was a parseltongue, and was offended Harry indicated Slytherins might be responsible. Emma's reaction was to look out of the window again in boredom.

Tom only opened his left eye as if to say _'you are at it again?'_ before closing it uninterested.

Harry heard Hermione sigh next to him in frustration, she had been certain at least one of those kids would have some kind of reaction to the news. She supplied more information, "One of the petrified victims died last night, the other is in critical condition."

"Meaning it wasn't Basilisk that attacked them," Edwen concluded.

"What makes you think so?" Ron asked looking away from Riddle.

"Victims that were petrified by Basilisk don't just die like that, especially not after only a month of being attacked," Artemisa answered.

"Or maybe you are just trying to protect that bastard over there," Ron said angrily. Tom completely ignored him.

Artemisa on the other hand got herself in sitting position and locked her gaze with Ron's.

"If you have any problem with Tom, please do say so. But let me remind you that you have no right to pin him for a crime he didn't commit."

Jinny looked at the girl again with something in between sympathy and pity. She must be under the impression that the girl is being manipulated by Riddle just like she had been by the diary all those years ago. The Riddle leaning on the wall was a walking breathing being of the ghostly figure that had exited the diary on her first year at Hogwarts, and no-one was going to convince her how those two weren't one and the same.

Tom finally decided to take an active part in the ongoing attempts of conversation and he moved to sit next to Emma.

"What was the blood status of the victims?" He asked.

"How are we supposed to know their blood type?" Ron questioned.

"I wasn't speaking about blood type moron. I was referring to the magical background."

Hermione answered before Ron could say anything, "They all had different backgrounds. One was pure-blood, one was half-half and the last one was Muggle born."

"Then they had gotten themselves in some mess that had no connection to us."

"Hardly," Jinny said, "Those three weren't friends and barely knew each other."

"And the victims were not together. Even thought they were attacked the same night, ever victim was in a different part of the castle," Ron added.

"How does that connects us to anything?" Edwen asked.

"Isn't it obvious?" Emma questioned, "For someone in Ravenclaw, you seriously lack perception. Tom killed the first victim, Fabius and I took the second one and you and Artemisa the third. Or it was just me and Fabius taking the other two victims, one each. Take your pick."

Harry looked at Emma with curiosity and concern. He had never anticipated such a reaction from her, and was expecting her full support in this. Tom was chuckling amused by the outburst. Harry sighed. Like he had already told Hermione, Ron and Jinny, there was no point it talking to them. Whatever they knew something or not was irrelevant as long as they keep guarding each others back and interests. Or rather, Tom's back and interests.

He took out something and handed it to Emma, "This arrived for you earlier today. Aurors weren't capable of opening it, therefore I wasn't supposed to hand it to you. But as long as you open it now it should be alright."

Everyone turned to curiously stare at the simple envelope with big red wax seal. The tinny elegant handwriting in which the letter had been addressed was unfamiliar to her, but Tom recognized it.

"Why would Alkaios be sending you a letter. Have you two even met? I can't recall that happening."

"They did meat," Artemisa informed Tom, "One of the times he was there when we were leaving for school, or when we were coming home.. I don't remember exactly."

She turned to Emma, "Still, why would he be sanding you a letter? You only exchanged few sentences with him. Twenty at the very most."

"I don't know," Emma admitted shrugging.

"Who is Alkaios?" Hermione questioned.

"My legal guardian," Tom said nonchalantly. He watched as Emma broke the wax seal easily and opened the letter.

The seal must have been enchanted so that only she could open it, if the Aurors were incapable of doing so. Why would Alkaios worry so much who read the letter he was sending to Emma? Why was he even sending the letter to Emma of all people? He tried to see what was written but Emma folded the paper before he could take a look and put it into her backpack.

She looked up at Harry and smiled, "It's nothing too important. Considering the fact he is the one keeping Tom in check you don't have to worry about that man committing and terrible deeds. He is preoccupied anyway."

Hermione got up and opened the door, "You are all free to return to your classes. Since you obviously won't be of any help to us."

Tom smiled at her, his voice like melted chocolate "I definitively like you. People that smart, perceptive and practical are far and few in between. It was nice seeing you again Hermione."

If she wasn't as old as she was she would have blushed. Tom Riddle was way to charming and good-looking for well-being of those around him. Once again she found herself almost taking a hat off in respect for his manipulation talents.

He winked at her as he exited the room and this time she did blush like some stupid school girl, and she gave herself a mental kick for it.

"Manipulative, charming, way too handsome and completely shameless," She mumbled to herself.

Jinny that had been standing next to her added, "You are forgetting a self-serving psychopath. Although, he is too young for you."

"I am married," Hermione said scandalized.

"Honestly, between him and my brother, even I have to admit he is a better catch. And I absolutely detest him," Jinny said thoughtfully.

"Told you that if you meat him you would stop so passionately hating him," Harry said to his wife.

She just rolled her eyes and closed the door.

"So what are we going to do now? There is absolutely nothing they can tell us," Hermione stated.

"Which is what I've been telling all you for some time now," Harry said.

"Yeah, I know. Do you have to rub it in?"

"We should probably go and visit Headmistress that's what we came for after all," Jinny reminded them.

"I wonder who will be the new headmaster of Hogwarts," Ron said.

"Let's just hope it's no-one of the old Slytherins or we could lose any advantage this school has given us over Tom Riddle," Hermione whispered.

* * *

Emma walked down the dark empty hallway on her way to the Room of Requirement. It was where Alkaios Alexandros, Tom's legal guardian, had requested a meting with her.

She had no idea why someone like him would want to see her, and if she was honest to herself she didn't want to know either. It couldn't be anything good, since nothing ever that could be connected to Tom was any good. As she had learned through personal experience.

Taking deep breath she tried to calm down before entering the room.

Alkaios was already there sitting in an armchair and playing chess by himself. He looked up when he heard the door open smiling pleasantly.

"Good evening Emma, I am glad to see you could make it."

"Good evening Mr. Alexandron," She greeted back, slightly uncomfortable.

"Please, call me Alkaios, come take a seat."

She nodded her head and nervously went to sit in a free armchair.

"I hope you play chess Miss Rynolds, I would be honored if you could join me for a game."

With a wave of his hand the figures went to their respectful places and he nodded for her to begin.

She did so looking up at him, "You wished to speak with me."

"As a matter of fact I did."

"My I ask about what?"

He moved his figure smiling, "I thought you would have guessed by now."

"Tom," she whispered silently, the noise of figure being placed on a board ringing loud in her head.

"You seem reculant to talk about him."

Emma didn't answer, choosing to concentrate on the chess board instead.

"You know Emma, the most important thing to do when you find yourself in a hole is to stop digging. I now see you knew where you were, but why didn't you stop?"

It was silent for a moment as she considered her answer before speaking up, "I was hoping that if I dig deep enough I might find a precious stone or a chest full of gold. At some point not long ago, I realized I have lost fate that there was something hidden there and I wanted to give up and get out. But... once I looked up I realized that light is to far away. I could no longer see the blue of the clear sky, it was only a small circle, more like a miniature spot high above my head. I could no longer reach it no matter how hard I might try. I was stuck there... I _am_ stuck."

It was silent after that, the only sound was that of chess peaces being moved around.

Emma sighed in frustration.

Alkaios still hadn't told her what he wanted to talk about, and her patience was running thin.

She was so occupied with her own thoughts that she almost jumped when Alkaios suddenly spoke up, "I remember my first impression was that you are a cheerful and optimistic girl, who's world is full of color and energy. It is rather shocking to learn I might have been wrong."

Emma looked up at him searching for any clues for possible thoughts and motives behind that calm and collected gaze. His face was wrinkled by all the years that had fallen on him, trying to break his will for life.

Her eyes fell on the board, "I am tired of fighting. I realized it is pointless to try and color the world if it will not embrace the change that it was offered. The gray and black always seem to surface back. And I find myself alone again, with only depressing monotony surrounding me. Words that once held some meaning are now being washed out."

Alkaios watched her for a long moment before saying in a quiet tone, "It is not our darkness that scares us all, it is our light. That is why only children are capable of beautiful innocence and unlimited kindness. They know no fear. It is easier to just let go and let the darkness consume you, to just became another barely visible outline in the boring everyday. It is easier to pretend that you don't care, then to show your heart and wait for someone to fire an arrow once he noticed the fragility. You weren't always afraid of light. What made you fear what you are?"

"The fear of facing pain of betrayal again. Check."

"It is a hard thing to face indeed," Alkaios admitted, "Anyone can hate. It costs to love. Therefore, I hope I am not asking for to much, but... I would like you to stay by Tom's side as long as you can, even if he doesn't want to admit it, I know your friendship means a lot to him. I am aware of how much I am asking you for, but knowing the hurt of being alone, you should be capable if only a little to understand why I am asking this."

It was quiet again as Emma watched the chess figures wondering what her next move should be.

Her thoughts were swirling around, her emotions and logic fighting. Both were losing the battle. Her opinions and believes were clashing. Promises and wishes danced around.

She must be a pretty good liar for everyone to honestly think that everything's alright. Nothing was.

So why is it that every time she tried to give up hope whispers '_One more try. Lets try just once more...'._

And way was she listening to that little voice inside her head. Was is really that loud that she couldn't just ignore it?

She stood up abruptly knocking her white king down and surrendering the game. She walked out of room quickly hearing Alkaios say behind her, "I was hoping to see you on the island this summer Emma."

The door closed behind her and she disappeared down the hallway trying to make it stop, trying to shut up that annoying whisper in her head that had became a satisfied laughter in the background of her thoughts.

In the Room of Requirement Alkaios looked down to the board, he slowly raised the fallen king up and his eyes winded in surprise as he realized that Emma had surrendered the game that would have been hers if she had played her move.

He smiled slightly as he raised the white king up to inspect him closer.

That girl really was interesting beyond what he had first thought.

* * *

**Author's note:** Don't kill me please!

I know this is like supper short chapter when everything taken into consideration, and nothing overly important happened but, yeah, I tried my best.

I am lacking time and am rather unmotivated to write since I am not getting any reviews, but don't worry I am still going to finish the story even if it ends up not as good as previously planed.

I hope you are enjoying holidays.

2013. is coming!

Happy New Year everyone!

Till the next chapter,

Ciao, ciao


	58. Family skeletons

**58. Family skeletons**

"Happy Valentines!" Artemisa screamed into Tom's ear appearing out of nowhere, a huge smile playing on her face.

He quickly put a hand over his ear giving her an angry glare. Fabius gave her a look clearly telling her to shut up. Her grin grew even bigger. They were in a secret hallway trying to avoid all the girls and their craziness (that included harts, chocolate, kisses, etc.).

"So? Who will you two fine gentlemen be taking out?"

They both ignored her and continued on their way down the hallway. She kept skipping after them naming all the possible girls that would be thrilled to go out with either of them.

The three of them were attaching, in Tom's opinion, unwanted attention. Practically every pair of eyes was on them all the way to their classroom. Although, luckily it was that too early even for fanatic girls and their sugar and love confessions.

"Artemisa would you mind leaving?" Tom finally asked once the girl quieted down, trying to think what girls she might not have mentioned.

She didn't answer him, instead following the two boys into their classroom and waving happily at Emma.

"Oh! Looky! A person that could help me annoy you two!"

The curly-haired girl looked up into too-close-for-comfort icy blue eyes.

"Don't you have classes as well?" she questioned trying to create some much needed personal space (bubble) between her and cheerful girl.

"Nope! My class was dismissed."

"I highly doubt you'll be allowed to stay in this one," Fabius said.

But the blond girl just waved him off uncaringly. Turning her attention back to Tom.

"So what are you going to do with all the gifts you'll get this time around?"

"I'm still brainstorming," Tom said nonchalantly, "Honestly I am running out of any pleasant ideas."

Artemisa nodded in (fake) sad understanding.

On his first year Tom had just thrown away all the Valentines gifts (there weren't many, so it was easy to just ignore them), on second year he burned them all with a flick of a wand (though the number had grown as it would keep growing), on third year he went to the Astronomy tower and was trowing them away one by one and them hitting them with various curses. And last year he had gathered all the gifts and had occupied the best spot in front of the fireplace in Slytherin common room, trowing them away one by one and watching cards, chocolate, stuffed animals and other things slowly burn. It had sent all Slytherin girls to their beds crying (As well as the ones from other houses once they had found out).

"He could Avada Kedavra each gift right in front of the poor, hopeful girl this time around," Emma suggested, "It would get him rid of the gifts and give him a sadistic satisfaction when they run away in fear and tears. _And_, with all the Aurors, it would get _us_ rid of him."

Artemisa nodded her agreement with serious face, "That's a good one. Add it to the list Tom. You can try that."

Tom mumbled something along the lines _'I could just_ try_ to__ Avada Kedavra or Crucio the girls.'_ But his words couldn't be clearly heard as Artemisa had already clapped her hands loudly turning towards Emma and questioning loudly, "And what would you be doing Miss Rynolds?"

"I would be spending the evening with Devlin Melfoy, we are going to sneak out to Hogsmeade."

Artemisa seemed dumbfounded for a moment looking sideways at the two dark-headed teens, before returning her gaze back the the Muggle born girl.

"Obviously I missed something," she concluded frowning. But her smile quickly returned, "I'll be waiting for an, no doubt interesting, explanation then. Right after this class Emma! As for now I am of to find Edwen and see what his plans for Valentines are. I bet he will be taking Erica Stainwright out."

"More like torturer him since we are boring," Fabius muttered as he watched the girl skip out through the door greeting few older Griffs on her way as well as accepting some girts.

He then turned to Emma, "So, you and Melfoy, _again_?"

"Problem?"

"No. You may waste your time all you want."

* * *

"How do I look?" Kohar asked spinning in a red dress once before stopping to look at her reflection again.

Adiy that was sitting on Kohar's bed barely looked up saying, "The blue one is better. Where may I ask are you going?"

"Oh! I haven't told you? I'm so sorry. Fabius will be sneaking out of Hogwarts tonight. He is taking me someplace in London."

"London? How do you plan to leave the island without anybody noticing you. Not to mention you've never been to London before."

"I'll be using some teleporting key or something. Fabius explained it but I wasn't paying attention. I was to exited. To think they have a day for celebrating love. Isn't that beautiful."

"No. Not really. And you are sure his plan will work?"

"Of course I am," Kohar said putting another dress on, "What about this one?"

"Color doesn't suit you. Where did you even get it? Don't even try the next one it's too ugly, but the violet one should look good on you."

"What will you be doing tonight."

"Something useful," Adiy remarked.

"Don't tell me you are still searching for that book."

"So what if I am. I... I want to find it. To see mum and dad again," It was the first time either of them mentioned their parents since they were adopted.

Kohar sighed and took a seat next to her twin sister hugging her, "I know. I miss them too. But... you and I are going to pull through all of this. And no matter what, we will always have each other. I promise."

Adiy nodded absentmindedly.

"How's decoding going?" She suddenly asked.

"With that new book you have found, way better. Who ever had written it was a pure genius. It is unfortunate that we are missing some parts."

"Missing some parts?" Adiy asked confused.

"Yes. I had noticed few days ago that the way to decode the book was another book. Most likely the history book or book with mythology. Or maybe astronomy. I tried finding the right book but couldn't. I had taken the book to Alkaios yesterday and he agrees with me, he also mentioned how he might know on which book the code is based on."

"And?"

Kohar concentrated and showed her sister the memory.

"Oh, I remember blocking away your thoughts during that conversation since I was occupied and it was braking my conversation. So you don't know where the book is?"

"Unfortunately no. But Alkaios said he might be capable of getting it."

* * *

It was around midnight and Tom was sitting on the sofa nearest to the fireplace watching the flames dance.

The play of light on his features was attracting longing gazes from girls that were still up unwilling to let the last few minutes of Valentines day pass without him there.

Tom was trying his bets to ignore them and concentrate on the book in his hands but after the whole day of trying to avoid the annoying clingers his patience was running thin.

"You really _are_ beautiful," A breathless whisper vibrated with sudden hot air brushing against his neck, "Can you be my Valentine?"

Tom tensed for a moment before he heard giggles and turn to glare at Emma. She grinned widely although her smile didn't reach her eyes.

"Mind if I join you?"

"Actually, _yes._"

She ignored his comment and flopped onto the sofa next to him. She sighed loudly.

Then repeated the action again.

Tom gave her a side-glance, before snapping the book close in irritation.

"Fine. I'll play. What's wrong?"

Emma barely opened her mouth to answer when Tom raised his hand to stop her.

"No. Wait. You have to tell me what your conversation with Alkaios was first, and then I'll play the concerned friend. Or find Artemisa to actually be one. Whichever you prefer."

Emma's eyes narrowed. But then she smiled, "Exactly that."

"Sorry?"

"That's what we were talking about. He was concerned for you. Obviously you did something to make him worry that you'll die alone. Which _is_ more then likely. Now; How was your day?"

Tom didn't answer and instead turned to look at the fire frowning.

"I see," Emma said, "Well, there is more where that came from. First of all I overheard Daisy and the _other two_ talking and Din will be returning. Tomorrow. Don't know how. I can't believe he healed that quickly. But, looks like he'll just jump back in in the middle of the school year. Second, I had a fight with Melfoy. Again."

"Why would I care that you two had a fight? _Again._"

"Because you are supposed to act as a concerned friend. And I can't exactly talked to my teddy about this."

"Have you tried?"

"Yes," she answered non-pulsed.

"You actually..." Tom started but was cut short.

"That's not important. And I need someone human-sized to talk to."

"Amm... How about, oh, I don't know, another _girl_; Artemisa maybe? Ever crossed your mind?"

"I just need to get it out of me and not be bombarded with questions."

"So of all people you decided to rent about it to me."

"I _am_ listening to your complains all the time," She reminded him, "You should try to be there for me once in a while when I need something."

Tom rolled his eyes slipping a page, "Fine, what ever."

"Promise?"

"Don't know exactly what I have to promise but; I _promise_."

"Really?"

Tom just nodded not really paying attention.

"Great. I'll be crashing in your bed then. Remember you said _whatever_ I need."

"What?!" Tom hissed looking up at her.

"Well you see, since Daisy returned, Laurentia's bullying had gotten a bit out of hand. Normally Idris is, thank God, trying to be reasonable and stop Laurentia from taking it to far. But... I don't think tonight is actually the best night for me to stay in my room. Or any other night from now on."

Tom just stared at her for a few moments before speaking up, "You can't just take my bed."

"Please! It's just for tonight. Tomorrow Din's bed will be available and I highly doubt he'll oppose to taking mine. He can sleep in girl's bedroom since Slytherin hadn't found it necessary to protect the rooms like the rest of the founders. The moments when I am glad for his lack of morals, even if that trait was passed down to you."

"And you think _Din _will just let you take his bed?"

"His only other option is sharing room with you, meaning, since he can't strangle you in your sleep, he will be shipped back to hospital before he can have a nice nap. I have already placed all of my things in your room. Can I please take your bed? Just tonight. Please."

"No."

"Why not?"

"Why don't you ask Melfoy. He would gladly give you his."

"He would gladly _share _his. Besides, I am angry at him."

"Are you sure you have no reason to be angry at me?"

"Oh, don't worry; there are plenty. But I am always angry at you for one thing or other so there isn't any specific change in our relationship."

"I've already told you; No. Where would I sleep?"

"You barely _ever_ sleep. I am sure you could live with few more sleepless hours. Finnish that book for example."

Tom sighed. He quickly scanned Emma, paying more attention to her then he had few moments before. Even thought she was trying to hid it she was scared. Nervous. Unhappy. Her eyes were pleading, almost tearful. She was trying to withdraw into herself, occupy as less space as possible. Trying to not draw too much unwanted attention, which was impossible. Many of the girls in the room were looking daggers at her and she was obviously aware of their staring and very uncomfortable.

He looked away with bored expression, "You can crash in my bed. Crash as if in case..."

He wasn't allowed to finish his sentence as Emma jumped happily at him hugging him tightly.

"I love you at times," she proclaimed too loudly. Quickly realizing her mistake she looked around the room and flinched. And there they go, Laurentia's new followers.

Tom smirked noticing her alarmed look, "Only at times?"

"All the times if it means I can cling to you till this storm blows over. I can't understand your fan girls. No offence, but the only good thing about you would be your amazing breathtaking looks. You might be brilliant as well but you are also a one-of-a-kind egocentric, manipulative, spoiled brat. Therefore, your astonishing mind is only serving your evil-mastermind purposes. As are your looks I guess." _(A/N: Question! do I say: are your looks or is your looks?)_

"Say that again and you'll be sleeping on the floor."

* * *

Tom walked into the room early in the morning and looked around.

Melfoy was asleep in his bed and Emma was occupying his, as was her puffy white cat (he is going to strangle her!), Fabius's bed was empty. Tom shrugged. He was probably still in London.

He carefully lied down next to Emma staring at her. He was wondering what ever her dreams were as confusing as her thoughts when she was awake. Raising his hand curiously he barely touched her forehead concentrating.

_Darkness._

_He couldn't see anything and at first he thought that she wasn't dreaming but the felling of terror quickly washed over him and he realized that that was her dream. That darkness he mistook for nothing._

_No rainbows and unicorns and little harts flying around and stuffed teddies. (Which was what he expected)_

_But fear and darkness.__  
_

_Thick blackness was making his eyes hurt. The silence was also to much. For a moment he thought about screaming but then realized that, even if he did, he wouldn't be capable of hearing his own voice. The nothingness that was around him would swallow any sound he might try to make._

_He was afraid of falling into the abyss below him even thought it made no difference. In whichever direction he moved he was alone._

_There was a part of him that knew that he was in Emma's dream, that nothing of this was real, that she needed to be somewhere in that darkness, probably lost, afraid and lonely like he was._

_He knew that part of what he was feeling were Emma's emotions, it was her dream after all. But he couldn't help but flinch at how real everything was._

_And even thought he wouldn't thought it possible it was becoming even darker, more ominous. It wasn't until then that he realized that under him he could see something grey and dark blue falling. For some reason it reminded him of words, colors and world. Like an already grey city with it's depressing cheater had also faded away and now, not even that was left._

_The darkness was dragging him in._

Tom tried to push deeper into her mind feeling that her defenses were to weak, that she was too tired to fight back. She won't be waking up for at least another half an hour.

He could feel something strange going on. As if the deeper he tried to enter her mind the deeper someone was entering his. But that wasn't possible so he concluded it must had to do something with Emma's own mind. The same way he could feel her emotions in her dream as it they were his own.

_-Emma was confused to find herself in a long hallway of what appeared to be a castle. She looked around opening one of the doors and taking a peek. She was certain she had never seen that room before and yet she knew she wasn't dreaming._

_~Tom was shocked to find how well organized Emma's mind seemed to be once you passed the tumultuous surface. He couldn't exactly tell where he was. It looked like a small city with stores and streets and the likes. However there were no signs marking the streets or directions. And he wondered if it was easy to get lost here. The streets were empty and he chose a random one to walk down on._

_-Emma had been walking through the maze of hallways for some time now. It felt forbidden. There was something in her telling her she wasn't supposed to be there. Warning her to watch out. This place belonged to somebody else, she could feel it. What if she ended up trapped here? Wherever that here was. Taking a deep breath she tried yet another room._

_~Tom looked around. It was really strange how quiet her mind was. He had seen things here and there that convinced him that this really was Emma's mind. Things like Greek gods sitting at the table in one of the shops, they were surrounded by pictures of different locations around the Greece, places he knew Emma had visited at some point. Then there was that laboratory with small moving solar system and floating molecules. He was now standing in a gallery with painting placed next to the drawing of a little girl and some handmade gift cards.  
_

_-She had almost gotten herself killed two times only moment ago when stairs started falling under her feet. She had almost fallen into the blackness that was awaiting her under them. And after that a hand from the painting resting on the nearby wall tried to strangle her. She really shouldn't be here. But she couldn't find the exit either. Taking a candle she carefully entered one of the darker corridors walking deeper into castle._

_~A girl around four or maybe five run by him as he exited the gallery. And he blinked confused at first. But then just dismissed it as some fairy from some tale Emma used to like when she was little. He has to admit to himself that he couldn't figure out the way the city was organized and started walking towards the park wondering what was on the other side of it. He was about to cross the little bridge when he heard a soft giggle._

_-The closer to the center of castle she was moving, the more dangerous it became. It was obvious she was not wanted there. But the more resistance she faced, the more determent she was to find what was it that was hidden in such a way. She had come over small things now and then. Things that in her mind could be connected to sentiment and memories, __although they didn't seem to be pleasant ones._

_~Tom turned to look where the giggle had come from but only succeeded in catching a glimpse of curly hair before the little girl dashed away. He looked at the river only to see images flowing down like a move. Curiously he stared at them trying to understand the story they were telling. A soft giggle was heard behind him again this time followed with a shy whisper, "You won't find anything of interest there."  
_

_-She had finally reached the end of the hallway only to find a plain metal door. The kind she saw in movies as doors to the cells in old castles, with only one small window with bars to see through. She was getting cold. The temperature must be in minus. It was also menacingly dark. Her candle was the only source of light. She came closer to the little window trying to see what was inside, she could barely make out a little figure in the corner of the miniature room._

_~Tom turned around to face the girl that was obviously Emma around the age of five. Sun was hitting her curly hair giving it a golden glow. She was sited on the bridge railing smiling brightly at him. She repeated, "You won't find anything interesting there."_

_"How do you know I am looking for something?"_

_"Because she thinks so," She said in her childish voice._

_"She?" Tom questioned confused._

_"Yes. Emma," the girl Tom thought was Emma said as if it was the most obvious thing on in the world._

_"And what's your name?" He asked carefully._

_She extended her arm towards him smiling, "I am Emma. It is a pleasure to meat you. And may I ask who might you be?"_

_Tom looked at her dumbfounded. Didn't she just said that Emma thinks he is looking for something, then said she was Emma, than asked him for his name even thought he was under the impression she knew who he was only moments before. Carefully extending his own arm to shake her little one, he said, "I am Tom."  
_

_She smiled brightly jumping of the railing she had been sitting on and gracefully landed on her small feet. She spun around herself once then putting her arms behind her back looked up at him._

_"Would you like to be my friend?" she asked before __placing one hand around her mouth and whispering, "_Then I can show you a secret."

_Tom blinked at her. If he had any doubts that this place was Emma's mind, those were all gone now. He crouched so he was on her eye level. Smiling he said, "I would love to be your friend."_

_-The little figure in the cell moved. It was only a shadow to her eyes but she could tell that it was a child. The kid had raised his head and was looking at her. Or maybe just the candle she was holding, she had a terrible felling the kid hadn't seen the light in a very long time. He must be freezing as well._

_"Hi, there," she whispered._

_"Who are you?" asked a weak voice obviously belonging to the little boy, "I never get visitors."_

_The voice was somehow familiar. But she couldn't quiet place it, it was to childish and she couldn't remember the last time she talked with a boy that young. She had only been in contact with older teens lately, boys who's voices has already changed._

_There was fear in his tone._

_"I am Emma," she introduced herself, "Lets get you out of there, okay?"_

_She tried to open the door as the boy spoke up, "It's locked. He won't let me out of here. He said I should disappear."_

_"He?" Emma questioned confused and angry. Who could lock up a child barely four years old in there and leave him all alone._

_"Tom," the boy answered but seeing her puzzled face added with hint of confusion in his own voice, "Tom Riddle. Don't you know where you are?"_

_No, she had no idea where she was; or what Tom had to do with all of it. If that was a dream she should really be waking up now. This was starting to scare her. As if she wasn't already freaked out enough by just being here. With a sigh she watched the boy as he slowly stood up. He was still in the shadows._

_"You can come closer you know. I won't hurt you."_

_"He told me not to trust anyone," the boy said although it was obvious he was longing to be closer to the door. Closer to the light of the candle that was burning out in front of his very eyes._

_"What's your name?" Emma asked kindly._

_"Tom," the boy said this time moving forward, unable to resist the warm of the candle he knew he would feel if he was close enough. Emma was shocked to see the still rounded and soft face of her Slytherin friend. He looked angelic. Or would have looked if it wasn't for the sadness and fear that she could see in his teary eyes. He was shivering from the cold._

_His small arms reached closer to the candle trying to warm up. Emma felt like crying seeing the picture._

_"I'll get you out of there."_

_"Don't he'll be angry. He was really mad last time and decided to lock me up. It's scary here. It's always dark and cold."_

_"So you weren't locked up before?" She asked._

_The boy shook his head, "No I wasn't. I was free to play around that hallway and I had a big fire."_

_Emma looked around the hallway. There were no windows and she couldn't imagine why little Tom thought it was way better then were he was now. It was barely four times bigger then his cell. Thought he probably loved the fire, it was warm and bright if nothing else._

_"I love fire," she said quietly, trying to start the conversation._

_The boy nodded enthusiastically, glad to have someone he could talk to, "Me too. I am scared of dark. And there is non when there is fire. And it's not cold either. I like watching the flames."_

_Emma gave him a small smile, "Could you hold the candle for a moment please. I am getting you out of here."_

_"But he will..." The boy started momentarily terrified._

_"He will what?" Emma cut him, "If he says anything tell him I let you out. And if he asked why were you even talking to me say you ignored me but I just opened the door anyway."_

_"Then he will be mad at you. I don't want you to get hurt. You are nice. I like you."_

_"Oh trust me he won't hurt me it will be the other way around," Emma muttered to herself as she concentrated on the door._

_~"So where are we going?" Tom asked the little skipping Emma._

_"Since you are my friend now, we are having an adventure," she told him._

_Tom sighed. He was starting to regret following five-years old Emma around. She was even more bizarre then her older version. Not to mention she had been dancing around his questions for some time now. And he was starting to think that Emma's mind had no defense because it had such a perfect annoying distraction.  
_

_But her little self stopped and turned to face him. She waved her hand indicating him to comes closer, so he did; Lowering himself so he was on her eye level._

_"It's a secret so you can't tell anybody."_

_"Of course," Tom said putting on a patient smile._

_"Pinky promise?"_

_Tom sighed and humored her._

_"Good. Now I can tell you," she said smiling._

_'Yeah, the pinky promise did it's magic' Tom thought sarcastically._

_"There is a place just where mind place connects with the awareness of oneself," she began, as if telling a spooky __fairy-tale, "There at the very end of what could be called city built out of conscious thoughts and memories lies a place, a dark place."_

_She stopped looking at Tom._

_"And?" He questioned._

_"And that's it," she said nonchalantly._

_"That's it," Tom repeated._

_"Yes. So, now that you know about the secret and you promised not to tell anybody we can go there so you can see it too. It's really scary you know."_

_"It's scary," Tom echoed after her._

_"REALY SCARY!" She emphasized, then ordered, "Let's go!"  
_

_Tom took a deep breath but followed her. He had already wasted so much time that a few more moments won't make any difference._

_-Emma had been trying to open the stupid door for what seemed like ages. It was useless. Little Tom had returned to his dark corner and was watching the dying light with longing eyes._

_"It will be dark again," he whispered and Emma could here tears coming in his voice._

_"I won't let anything happen to you. God! I need my wand!"_

_"You can't open it with a wand," he informed._

_"And why is that?"_

_"That kind of magic doesn't work when you are in someones mind."_

_"Mind?" Emma repeated looking at him. She could barely make out the small teasing smile that twisted his lips._

_"You really have no idea where you are. I thought you were playing dumb on purpose when I asked you the first time. How did you get here if you don't know where you are?"_

_"I just... appeared here."_

_There was a soft chuckle, "And I thought you were smart."_

_"Hey!"_

_He moved closer to the window again, "You are in his mind. The only power over this place that you can have would be channeling your own magic here, _without_ a wand, so that you can control his mind and make him do what you want. Like easily open the door."_

_Emma watched him slightly annoyed. No matter if he was four or fifteen he was a bratty knew-it-all._

_The boy sighed._

_"But since you don't even know _how_ you got here. I guess that won't be happening," his voice was somewhat disappointed._

_"Well since you are such a smart little thing, maybe you could help me connect to my magic and open the door."_

_"Sure. First lets try something simple that won't bring too much attention to you, like creating a new candle. This one is burning out."_

_~"Here we are," the skipping imp __(that was Tom's new nickname for her, she earned it)_ declared.

_Tom looked to where she was pointing and froze. There was something that he could only describe as a black whole surrounded by whet Tom assumed was Emma's awareness of her normal magic. He was even standing on what he thought was Emma's magical power and could feel it, it was only slightly above the average. But that black huge thing was something else. It was emitting such power that Tom was shocked he never felt it before. Although, he had something similar in himself._

_"What is that?" he asked his little companion._

_"The dark place," she said hugging his leg, "I don't like it."_

_"Has Emma ever used it?"_

_"No. She doesn't know about it."_

_How was that even possible? Tom wondered. Then remembered that in his own mind he had a younger part of himself that held some of the memories he couldn't forget, but never exactly remembered either. Human brain was such an interesting thing, especially of those who had magic as well._

_"I used it once," the imp whispered._

_"Really?"_

_She nodded, suddenly all shy and scared._

_He crouched down hugging her, "You can tell me you know. I am your friend."_

_"You promise not to tell Emma. She would be upset if she knew."_

_"I won't tell her."_

_-"You aren't even trying!"_

_"I am! We can't all be super magical genii!"_

_Little Tom sighed, "Look! If you are here, which you are, then you must be really powerful since I doubt Tom would just let you walk in. Conclusion, you aren't trying."_

_"I created a new candle."_

_"That is _easy_. He wouldn't be paying attention to additional candle in his mind. The candle was just to test whatever you can control this place without destroying it! Now, try to call upon the magic that got you here."_

_~As little imp finished her story she turned to stare at the blackness, "Could you make it disappear?"_

_"No, I can. It is a part of who you are."_

_Emma looked sadly at the ground, "I don't like it. Why do I have it?"_

_"Who knows," Tom started but suddenly stopped. Something was going on with that huge black ball._

_Emma looked up at him, "Is something wrong?"_

_"Nothing... I have to go."_

_"Will you come again? Emma likes you, as do I," She said smiling brightly again._

_"You knew who I was!"_

_"Of course I did. That is why I brought you here. I was hoping you could help."_

_"I am sorry I can't," Tom whispered and was surprised to find that he had meant it. But then something caught his attention. A certain part of his mind was being messed with._

_"See yea," Emma waved as he quickly left her mind._

_- Emma had only unlocked the door when she felt herself being pulled away from the whole place._

_She saw Tom lean on the open door with wide eyes before smiling sadly, "I'll miss you. You are welcome to visit again. I'll probably need another cage to be unlocked from so do practice a bit."_

Tom opened his eyes widely and removed his hand from Emma's forehead as quickly as he possibly could. She didn't move, probably still asleep, though she would wake up any minute now. He closed his eyes and concentrated on entering his own mind.

The sound of his talknet mirror ringing broke his concentration and woke up Emma.

"Good morning honey," he greeted as Emma opened her eyes to look at him.

"Tom! What the hell! Get of the bed!"

"It is _my_ bed you know," He commented reaching for the annoying device.

"Why isn't Devlin waking up with all that noise?" Emma questioned.

"Hmm...? Looks like he already left. Fabius what is it?"

"What did you do?" Angry teen questioned from the other side, "Oh, good morning Emma."

"Good morning," she greeted, "What did he do?"

"All the passageways to enter Hogwarts are locked."

"And you automatically decided to accuse me?" Tom questioned.

"Who else?" Fabius fired back.

Emma turned to Tom, "You _are_ behind 99% of things going around this school."

"And neither of you is willing to believe the other 1% chance that I might not be behind passageways locking?"

"If it really isn't you, that means it's Aurors," Emma said thoughtfully.

"Oh, great!" Fabius complained, "Who had died now? And even more important how am I going to get back to school?"

"We could probably use Room of Requirement to get you," Emma suggested.

Tom turned to look at her, "And it hadn't crossed your mind to sleep there last night?"

"To sleep..." Fabius repeated in the mirror.

Emma shrugged, "It was Valentines. There was probably a couple snogging in there."

"I highly doubt anyone would use the Room of Requirement for snogging," Tom mumbled to himself.

Emma turned to the talknet mirror again taking it from Tom's hand, "So where do you want us to pick you up?"

"Where could Emma be picking you up," Tom corrected.

"And do tell what you would be doing," Emma shoot back.

"You just gave me a perfect idea how I can enter and exit the Chamber of Secrets without anyone knowing. pick me up in... two hours. I am going to see how Agrona is going."

He slid of the bed and left.

Emma sighed and looked back at Fabius, "So, when and where am I picking you up?"

* * *

Two months had passed and Tom never mentioned her entering his mind even thought he was sure he knew. After all controlling mind place his or someone else's was kind of his talent. But she never mentioned it either. She had figured out that he must have entered her mind and something went wrong so she entered his as well. Or maybe it was their blood-bond. Who knows.

The time that had passed had been strangely peaceful even thought Din had returned to Hogwarts. He and Tom didn't have as much as a conversation let alone a fight. They mostly avoided each other when ever possible.

All the passageways out of the school were still locked. Aurors having no suspect for the killing that happened at her beginning of the semester decided that somebody had entered the castle, killed those three students for a reason they still didn't know, and left. They concluded that the best thing they could do was seal all the exits.

It was nearing one o'clock in the night and most students were sleeping peacefully in their warm comfortable beds. Emma wasn't one of them.

She was sitting in the Room of Requirement trying to concentrate on the power she used to manipulate Tom's mind. It was hard. She was incapable of placing exactly where that power was coming from and therefore incapable of taking control of it. It was more like the power was controlling her. It only appeared when Emma was desperate for something, things that her normal magic couldn't do.

She felt someone's hand on her shoulder and jumped doing a quick wandless spell (she was getting better at those). Turning around she saw Tom easily blocking her attack with a lazy wave of his hand.

"Tom! The hell! You scared me! Do you know what time it is? How did you even get in here?"

"Well it's not that hard to work over the obstacles once you figure out how the room works."

"I remember specifying that nobody else can enter while I am using it."

"Well I asked for a room where I can find you by appearing in it. So technically I didn't enter, and you hadn't requested a room where nobody can find you."

Emma didn't look convinced. But said nothing deciding to just ignore him in hopes he will go away. Closing her eyes she turned away.

"You are doing it wrong by the way," he informed her.

"You know where the door is."

"I could help you."

"What are you still doing here?"

"You need my help."

"I thought you left already."

"Emma, we both know you aren't going to learn how to use that magic without my help."

"I was doing just fine."

"Oh, yeah. I can see how _fine_ you were doing."

Emma opened her left eye to glare at him. He wasn't paying her any attention laying on the sofa opposite of her in a relaxed and lazy manner. He wore an expression of boredom and was staring at the ceiling while swirling his wand gracefully.

"What is it to you?" She suddenly asked.

"I do have a blood-bond with you. I might as well make it useful."

"Of course," Emma mumbled, "Why did I think there was any unselfish motive. It is you who is offering."

Tom turned his head to look at her his face thoughtful but then he just shrugged, "So you want my help or not?"

"I could use it," Emma admitted in a tired voice.

Tom clapped his hands smiling, "Great. Let us start then."

* * *

A man was standing next to the big window watching the lights of the city below him. He had a glass of red wine in one hand and was listening to the piano concert that was playing on the big plasma TV behind him. She really was extraordinary. To think that twenty years ago, he was in this same house desperate and lonely.

However his smile quickly faded away as he coldly greeted the reflection of an old man.

"What are you doing here?" He questioned without turning to face the newcomer.

Alkaios smiled at him, "It's nice to see Leo. It's been years."

"What are you doing here?" The younger man repeated icily.

"I wished to speak with you. I must say, I am impressed that you were capable of hiding that Emma is your daughter for five years now. I would've never guessed. Even though, the last name Rynolds should have probably been a big clue. Luckily we played a game of chess some time ago and she has your moves. You should be proud, she is really good at the game."

"You didn't hear from me in twenty years and you had no reason to suspect I had a daughter, let alone that I allowed her to go to Hogwarts, especially since I left that world."

"True. I still am sorry that you decided to leave."

"Don't take me for a fool," Leo said, "You may be capable of manipulating everyone else. But you can't manipulate me. You never could."

"Which is precisely why I wanted you as my heir all those years ago. You used to love spending time at Court."

Leo finally turned to face his old mentor, his cat-green eyes cold.

"You were the cause of my parents death," he accused.

"I never meant for them to die. You know that."

"The way you never meant for your family to die? Oh, no. Wait. I just now remembered you sacrificed their lives to prolong your own. A spoiled prince who wanted revenge."

Alkaios smirked, "It never cases to amaze me. The knowledge you hold. Like you were a lost Amandus."

"We are close enough," Leo commented in displeasure.

"The last of the dark wizard families. The most powerful ones are going to be the first to disappear. Amandus are the only one left. No, wait. You have a daughter, and I do believe that Koskinizos* still have one heir left as well."

Leo rolled his eyes, "Oh, yes. Tom Riddle. I should have killed that family instead of just sealing their power away. Even if it meant that I was cursed for the rest of my life. You want a drink? I might as well offer since it is obvious you won't be leaving any time soon."

*_(A/N Koskinizo - means riddle in (old) Greek, or so the dictionary says.)_

"A glass of wine would do, thank you."

"I'll guess he is your new heir."

Alkaios nodded, he didn't ask how Leo knew that having learned long ago not to question anything the younger man said or did.

"What did the prophecy sound this time?"

"It was rather interesting. Unfortunately, he didn't buy it."

"Guess he has some brains," Leo sneered.

"He is actually rather intelligent. Kind of like you."

"Don't compare me with him. I find his thirst for power disgusting. Not to mention tons of his other _qualities._ I wish Emma would stop associating with the boy. Unlucky, she is as stubborn as her mother. "

"You used to desire it too."

"I never desired power, I wanted knowledge. There is a difference."

"What makes you think Tom wants power and not knowledge?"

"He grew up alone in an orphanage having nothing. Not even knowing who he is. Not that he knows now. I grew up as a last descendant of one of the most powerful families ever. My mother taught me to fear the darkness I was born with. That's how I know."

"Then you must have had a rather selfish thirst for knowledge considering the fact how much of it you made sure was locked away," Alkaios countered.

"Nobody should have that kind of power," he whispered.

"You have it."

"I don't. You are forgetting I sealed away my own power."

"I know that," Alkaios said smiling as he produced a big precious stone out of nowhere, "And that is rather silly of you."

Leo paled, "How did you get that?"

"The key to your seal you mean?" The older man questioned turning the stone around and watching the light dance, "It wasn't that hard really. I only needed to figure out where it was. You might be a genius Leo, but I have centuries of experience to hold over your young head."

He quieted down for a moment before continuing, "Isn't the history of the most powerful wizard dynasties interesting. Unlike Amandus, your family never wanted the throne and preferred to control from the shadows. And unlike Kleosnike, my family didn't mind having housing such dark wizards on our territory. Koskinizos liked staying in the world of talent less people and playing Gods. It really was a good move of my forebears to allow your ancestors to move in. It is your blood-bonding spell that bounded a group now called Protectors to us. And wanting to stay in shadows slowly destroyed you, leaving us your knowledge."

Leo was carefully watching him trying to deduce where the conversation was going.

"I must say, it was great having a friend from your line, having access to all the knowledge you were holding in that underground library. The power that was lying among the dusty pages. But the biggest secrets were craved in stone. Code that no-one was capable of breaking, or maybe of those capable enough, no-one wanted to. Until you."

Alkaios carefully analysed Leo's face, but the younger man was unmoved. He definitively knew where the conversation was going, but he didn't react in any way. It was quiet for a moment as they both only stared into the others eyes, trying to read the other, to see trough him.

"You knew from the very start that I would be capable of decoding the room," Leo finally concluded.

"Of course I did. I lived for thousand years, and you didn't know that until you started time traveling, by when you had already decoded the whole room. And unlike you, I already knew there was a small kid going around appearing and disappearing trough ages, changing the world the way he saw fit. I only had to wait for a right kid to be born. I had time. Manipulated millions of people trough the ages, only protectors new what really happened, couldn't do anything thanks to your family. And here I am. So Leo, where is the book?"

"In the dark library on the very island you live on. Pity you can't get in."

"Actually I can. You see once Tom tried to find the library, due to his own heritage, he was capable of walking trough your barrier, which in turn made your barrier disappear. I am going to guess that, you made the barrier like on purpose for whichever reason. So I have that book, I need the other part of the puzzle."

Leo's eyes narrowed, his brain working in incredible speed, _"Why did that boy's seal fail anyway? ... Possibilities: Because his mother was Salazar's heir? Did that heritage had to do something with the failing seal? Time? ... But when I first met the boy on the station I couldn't feel dark power coming from him, and no-one could have destroyed my seal. Meaning someone... Alkaios! placed another seal that could easily be broken, because... Salazar most likely was the one to remove it. He could also use the boy... Possible scenarios: So Alakios killed boy's mother on birth to perform the spell. She should have been capable to fit in the needed role. But who did Salazar kill to break it. It needed to be blood relative if my assumption about the seal Alkaios placed was correct. He could have had more hairs I guess. ... Next possibility... Stupid old monkeys!"_

It didn't take him longer then two seconds to come to the conclusion of what must have happened. He extended his arm, his palm up, "Give me back the stone and I'll tell you."

"For someone who says he doesn't want power, you sure are afraid of your magic being forever sealed away."

"I do have a family to protect. Since both you and Salazar are playing war like little kids do with their dolls. Except you are playing with human lives."

"Your family... Since Emma doesn't know, I am going to guess that your wife is as clueless too about who you really are. Nice lie you created there. Successful businessman. It must be interesting pretending to be normal. Does it make you feel better? Does it make you forget _her_?"

* * *

Emma opened her eyes to look at the dark-haired teen lying next to her. She had somewhat succeeded in entering her own mind and was now extremely tired; and freaked out since she learned there was a part of her holding memories she can't recall.

Tom was babbling about the possible explanations for those little parts of themselves that they couldn't control. She wasn't listening to carefully. He was giving some complicated psychological and biological theories and making lapses from one thing to another. She just didn't have the concentration needed to follow.

"Why did you do it?" She suddenly asked.

"Did what?"

"Locked him away. He is a part of you after all."

Tom rolled his eyes, "He is the most annoying prat ever."

"Well he _is _you. Although, I think he is the best part of you. It's like he is your heart and the rest of you is just cold logic."

"Maybe you should sleep Emma. You are starting to sound weird. Well, weirder then usual."

"Have you locked him away again?"

"No. Can't close the door or switch the hallway right now. Still cleaning up that place thanks to you," Tom was silent for a moment before continuing, "I thing I am starting to regret teaching you how to control your powers..."

"No need to worry. I actually respect _your_ privacy. ... Somewhat. I might want to check on little Tom again. He is the part of you I like the best."

"Forget about entering my head ever again."

"I won't. If you promise to let that part of you out every time I am around."

"Keep dreaming."

Emma smiled slightly.

They were quiet again for a moment, each trying to reenter their own mind; when Emma remembered, "You never told me if memories I got you from Dumbledore's office were helpful."

"Why would I have told you that?" Tom questioned.

"Because we are friends," Emma said, then added, "And because we are blood connected so I can repeated it to anyone who doesn't already know."

Tom gave her a smile before turning serious again, "No, I didn't get what I wanted from those memories."

"What were you looking for?"

"Location of a book."

"A book?" Emma questioned curiously.

"Yes. All those years ago, when I first came to Hogwarts and was on my fourth year, there was a rumor going around about a special book. It was hidden in one of the smaller and older graveyards. Those that were built before the pyramided At that time it wasn't exactly a legal profession like it is today, but there were wizards that went gold hunting. The rumor first spread among them, about the certain magical protection no-one was capable of passing. On the other side of the obstacle was a book. The rumors soon spred around the other wizards and there were many who died trying to get the book. It took months for them to figure out why no-one could get past the barrier. Not even the best of the hunters. To pass trough you needed blood sacrifices. And nobody knew how much. Many hunters gave up then, not wanting to kill others for such an object which's value they didn't know for sure. But of course there were those who were ready to spill blood to get to it. The Ministries had agreed to constantly watch the place so that no-one would go killing just to get to the book."

"So the book is still there?" Emma questioned.

"No. And that's the problem, because the barrier still is. Meaning someone had killed, entered, got the book and got out. They didn't work around the barrier. They worked through it."

"How do you know the book isn't there any more?"

"I had sent someone to check," Tom answered making it clear that she wouldn't be hearing the specific name.

"You thought it might have been Voldemort."

"I did want the book. I still want it even though I don't know what is written in it. And he did have my memories... He was supposed to me so..." he left the sentence hang.

"...it was the most logical conclusion," Emma finished for him, "You were hoping Dumbledore had a memory from which you could deduce whatever that was correct."

"I already tried newspapers and books."

Emma nodded._ "The book must have been really important to be protected like that. But it must have been very old as well. Can there be anything that could be considered important now in the book that old? Something that isn't just of the historical value. I wonder where it is now?"_

* * *

Alkaios watched Leo waiting for a reacting to his last question. Once again there wasn't any. He continued, "Did you know she died few years ago leaving her twin daughters behind all alone. Orphans. They are Emma's age."

Still no reaction.

He sighed. Looks like Leo really had moved on. At least one of them was capable of moving on after being broken into million little pieces. Then again she was the reason he left the magic world behind.

The younger man was still waiting to be handed the stone and with a sigh Alkaios passed it to him.

"The book is in Egypt," Leo said as he closed his fingers over the stone making sure it was the real thing.

"It isn't," Alkaios said.

"That is not possible. I made sure the sacrifice would be to big for anyone to pay."

Alkaios smiled sadly, "Like you daughter Leo, you have seen the worst, and are still willing to believe in the best in people. Obviously there was someone who didn't find the price all that big..."

Alkaios suddenly stopped what he was saying and looked at the younger men. Something wasn't right. He quickly concentrated his magic in the direction of the stone Leo was holding and tried to break it but it only had the opposite effect of what he planed. He lost air and fell on the floor unable to get up. The power that was keeping him down was familiar even thought he hadn't felt it in twenty years.

Leo stepped closer to him smirked, "So predictable. When you felt I am unlocking my seal you tried to destroy the key. But you see, my seal is a bit different, destruction of the key opens it instead of making my powers lost forever. I really regret this, but it is the only way. You've been playing God for way to long. I should have stopped you years ago. I don't like Tom Riddle, but that doesn't mean I will allow you and Salazar to control and manipulate the boy because of the power he possesses. Neither can I allow you near my daughter."

He crouched so that he was on the eye level with panting Aleksios and continued, "It is a pity that the last Alexandros will die like this but... there are worst ways of dying. At least you will get your revenge."

He placed his arm on Alkaios shoulder and started mumbling the spell that Alkaios realized was from the encrypted stone room, the one he and his father and many other ancestors tried to decode but failed because they didn't have the needed knowledge to begin with. And now the most powerful Skotadi, Leo Skotadi, the one that had thrown away the legacy of his own blood to became a simple businessman some unimportant Leo Rynolds, was casting the spell that Alkaios knew he couldn't stop.

When he finished Leo got up and took a piece of paper and a pen writing something down. Alkaios stood up on his feet, but didn't dare to move more than that. He waited for someone who was only a child in his eyes to finish writing.

"Here," Leo said passing him the paper, "You can kill Salazar with that spell. You have only four more months to live. You can either use that spell and avenge Penelope. Or you can waste your time trying to decode the script engraved in that room. It's up to you."

"I was already dying. There was no need to shorten my life further."

"Yes there was. You found out about Emma. I can't let you live long and try to manipulate her. She is my daughter. And, even if you somehow succeed in translating the room. You won't have enough time to find the spell you need to prolong your life. The two years that you had had left were too long for me to risk it. Good bye Alkaios. I really hope that four months are enough for you to reflect on you long life. If it is worth anything now, you were a good mentor even as a lying, manipulative bastard. You did teach me a lot."

The old man disappeared from the room and Leo Rynolds turned towards the TV. The live broadcast of his wife's concert had already ended. Sighing he turned it off and faced the window again. He hoped Alkaios would forgive him for what he had done, even after everything he was still grateful to him for all the years he was there when Leo had lost his parents. That gratefulness was something that didn't disappear, not even after all the things Leo learned.

With a wave of his hand a book appeared on the table. He watched it in the reflection of the big window. He really did hate the Skotadi power. And somehow he was never capable of destroying that cursed book.

And he would need to try dome new seal. The one he had had been weakening for years now.

* * *

**Author's note:** No I am not dead (yet)

I am so sorry I hadn't posted the chapter last month. I had exams at university and only studying was on my mind (well I am lying, this chapter was on my mind as well and in my mind I changed million times how it should look, not sure this was the best option or not, kinda forgot all the other options)

So as I wanted you to forgive me I wrote this long chapter, 9750 words. =)

I should be forgiven.

_I would also like to thank:_

Tyran272 - for adding me to alerts

cutiepie102 - for adding me to alerts _and_ favorites

Barbamanta - for adding me to favorites

That would be it

tell me what you think,

till the next chapter (hopefully March - unless something terrible occurs)

Cioa, cioa ^.^


	59. Just another cover up

**59. Just another cover up **

Leo was sitting in his office working on an important meeting plan. A month had passed since he had seen Alkaios and he was still hitting his head in the wall without any ideas of what the old man was up to.

Sighing he looked at the picture of his family. Carefully he took in his hand and spun in his chair deep in thoughts.

_''...realized she was my daughter because of game of chess, my ass. He must have known who Emma was from the very first moment. He might have even kept tabs on me. Obviously he had a reason for mentioning her. Meaning he really did, or at least he tried to, involve my daughter into something. But what?''_

The secretary on his office phone called, "Sir, the German representatives have arrived for the meeting."

"Yes. Send them directly to the meeting room I'll be there in a minute," He answered placing the photo back.

He closed his laptop and got up quickly. He hadn't completed the whole meeting plan, looks like he would have to improvise. Leo quickly left him office leaving the unsettling thoughts behind.

Six hours later and he was finally returning home, still musing about the same thing that had occupied his mind for the last month, no matter if he was in Japan or Russia or USA the dark thoughts were occupying his mind. He had still pulled through with all the meetings and agreements and was therefor finally having a few days for himself. He had barely walked trough the door when he heard piano playing. So she was back from her tour as well.

"Hey honey," Anabel greeted him happily, "How was your day?"

"Successful," He answered smiling.

All tension from his body was now gone. He loved hearing her play, "I have missed you."

"And I you. I am getting too old for this," She laughed, "Dinner is still warm in case you are hungry."

"No. Thank you. I already had dinner."

Leo leaned on the wall as he watched his wife play. He loved this. The peace that came with a normal household, normal family (a family he wanted to be normal), normal life in general. Most people are walking around city everyday wishing for excitement and adventure, never realizing how wonderful life they lead.

The final note of the song hung in the air for a moment and he was drinking the sound in. So peaceful.

"Don't fall asleep there darling. I haven't seen you in months."

Leo only smiled as an answer opening his now dark green eyes.

Anabel seemed to notice this as she gave him a questioning look. However she quickly dismissed the sudden difference in his normally cat green eyes as a trick of light.

"Are you in for a game of chess, Leo?"

_"Chess... damn why did Alkaios mention chess as a way he recognized Emma? There must be something there. But fucking what!'_'

"Leo?"

"Yes. I'd love to play a game."

"Could you let me win this time? I've been loosing to you for over 15 years now," Anabel asked jokingly, "I sometimes wonder what ever the fact that you are so good at chess has something to do whit your master ability at business strategies as well..."

She kept on chatting about this and that, but Leo was no longer paying attention.

_"__Strategies? ...But it can't be that simple. And Emma wasn't good at strategies. Logical deduction, somewhat. Creative and surprising, hell yes. But it was nothing Alkaos could use ... Damn. I have already dismissed that a million times."_

"I think I am going to try my luck with black this time. You can take the first move. It doesn't do me any good anyway," Anabel concluded.

Leo only nodded as he moved his knight.

* * *

"_I see Emma had finally figured out how to use her powers. That's nice. She obviously still needs a lot of practice, as well as a person who would actually explain to her what her magic ability allows her to do with her brain capabilities. And you haven't done a good job. But then again, you are making it too complicated on purpose. I don't see why. Her talent obviously isn't in the whole magic-mind thing. Although she could be really good at protecting her own thoughts and mind space. She has the much needed creativeness, even if she is lacking in the concentration department somewhat."_

_"Would you just shut up?" Tom asked turning towards his emotional part._

_His five-years-old looking self pouted, but otherwise quieted down._

_"What are you even doing here?"_

_"I do live here. This is your mind place and I am part of you."_

_"Why don't you just drop dead."_

_"But then you would be completely lacking emotions! Imagine the horror. I am already small as it is. Then again, I think I have been growing a bit lately..."_

_The older version sighed and entered the room followed by the emotional part of himself that was still lively discussing his own newly discovered grown. __They were deep into Tom's mind and the more dominant part of him was growing incredibly tired of this new 'self discovery'. Damn Emma. She had messed his mind so badly that it took him three weeks to clean everything up and then another month to rearrange half of the stuff. And he was still having trouble closing some of the doors inside the castle that represented his mind, hence his emotional part was still out and driving him crazy. __However, he had more pressing matters to attend to now._

_Arriving at his destination he looked at the part of him sitting on the pillow in the middle of the room full of boards and paper. Numbers, words and drafts were flying around. __His emotional part was still at the door watching everything with amazed eyes. __The Tom on the floor opened his dark eyes and looked at the two newcomers._

_"Tell me again how come you two are a part of me?" He said in annoyance._

_The cold and calculating voice made the other two pale. After all between the three of them, it was the pure logical part that was his main trait and therefore t__he most influential one._

_"Don't look at me, I am actually useful. And I hold parts I/you like about myself. The feeling-are-important part doesn't. Can't understand why it's still around."_

_"Emotions are necessary for good deductions as well. And you hold parts I am glad I have because I made you so," The logical part stated._

_"Come to think of it," The childish voice spoke up, "Isn't it risky to separate your brain like that for so long? I mean you might as well have lost the alfa-position in those last three years."_

_The two other Toms walked closer to each other and merged in one._

_"I was developing as well. Only slightly away from outside world. Dear me, I can't believe I did all those things. I am definitively never again separating logic to such level from other character traits. It's an idiotic disaster out there. Which part of me came to the idea to kiss with Mud-blood again? So many things are wrong. Just wrong."_

_"Don't look at me. I was looked up."_

_"Imagine the disaster if you had been free."_

_"Imagine the disaster that... wait, don't have to imagine. See the disaster of separating me since you were thirteen 100 years ago. I am starting to be my own person. Like a split personality or something!"_

_'Alfa' Tom ignored the comment and scanned the room._

_"So was your three years constant separation worth it?"_

_"Somewhat. I still have some loss ends. Mostly things that had only recently appeared. Like where Emma's dark powers come from if she is a Mud-blood. I am certain her power was inherited. But I couldn't feel any magic from either of her parents last time I saw them. A few plans need more consideration as well as a question as to why you still have part of Emma's magic with you?"_

_"Who me?" The little Tom asked innocently. Normally he was constantly ignored by himself as he saw this part of himself as unimportant, or rather not important enough. But somehow luck was always with the colder and rational part of himself. So much about not being noticed. He tried changing the topic, "So, you have any idea why Emma's eyes changed color?"_

_The other part gave him a hard stare, before moving swiftly and reemerging with his emotional part._

_"I hate this," he mumbled to himself, shuddering at the sensation that came once his emotions washed over him. _

Opening his dark eyes Tom sighed. Yeah, the eyes changing colors thing was also bothersome. But he didn't have much time to ponder over it as Emma stormed into the room. For a moment Tom wondered if she had even noticed that change in her eyes.

"I got it! I finally know how I can get that memory I can't remember," She babbled as fast as humanly possible, not really caring that she didn't have Tom's full attention, "I mean I have already found the locked door that holds my memory, now I only need her... me... her... never mind... to unlock the door. And I remembered you mentioning one can lock the person invading their mind in there if trained well enough. Therefore I should try to catch myself and lock in a specific part of my brain. Then she, me, can't run away and I can make her or me or what ever, to unlock the door!"

"Intriguing," Tom commented sarcastically. His face showing pure boredom.

Emma ignored his remark and added, ''And I have figured out the best way ever to protect my memories and knowledge that I don't want others to see!"

"Yell louder please, I think Hagrid didn't hear you in his pitiful excuse of a house."

"I am going to hide my memories in the clouds," she finally whispered.

Tom just stared at her for a few long moments before he got his voice back, "Did you just tell me the place where you were _supposed_ to _hide _things you don't want others to find out?"_  
_

"It's not like you respect my privacy. And we have a blood-bond so you can't tell anybody."

"True. And I'll admit, the idea is interesting."

"Oh, and I succeeded in what you failed, I managed to compose a few melodies that can control emotions of the people listening."

This caught Tom attention, but before he could ask anything Fabius and Devlin entered the room arguing about OWLs. Emma had found their arguing interesting for some reason and hand joined in. An hour later everyone was asleep.

_He was lost, w__andering around streets of London's after midnight in his attempt to escape the horrors of the orphanage. He just couldn't stay there any more. He didn't want to. He wanted to go home, he wanted a home. Where was his home? __Everyone needed a home right? __Cold was creeping into his bones and his small body was shivering like crazy. It was making him dizzy and he couldn't think clearly. __Little clouds were leaving his mouth as he breathed._

_Slipping on the ice covered sidewalk the little boy fell, yelping in surprise. __He could feel his hand getting pierced by sharp part on the ice. Raising his hand to his face he inspected the small cut forcing himself not to cry. Putting his cold mouth on the cut he could feel the warm blood and the metallic taste. His tears started falling as he sat there trying to forget the fear that was holding him hostage in place. Taking another raged breath he slowly got up and kept walking, unsteady on his little feet. He needed to find a new place to stay._

_Loud laughing reached the ears of the six years old and he turned terrified towards the sound. He could barely make out three grown men standing in the dark corner and yelling loudly. He could hear them, the way they mispronounced even the easiest of words. They must have been rather drunk, the boy concluded. He wanted to just walk away but their yelling reached him again, this time they were yelling at him, his six years old mind couldn't understand much of what they were saying, but the ominous feeling he got was more then enough for him to start running._

_He run as fast as his little legs and tired body would let him, but he could hear two out of three man behind him. His heart started beating faster as he took a sharp turn and rand into a random street only to soon come face to face with a high wall. Tom was trapped. There was no way out here. __The men had finally reached him swaying as they walked closer._

_"Come her' lil' boy. It won't hurt, much," One of the man said while the other laughed loudly, "We're gonna 'ave fun with you, lil' begga'."_

_"I am not a beggar!" Tom screamed his voice high pitched in his fear._

_The men laughed again, one of them opened his wallet and took a bill out, trowing it at the boy, "Her', for wha' lil' fun your goin' be."_

_Why wouldn't they just leave him alone? What did they want? He wanted them dead. Yeah! They should die! They will die! He was special. He had yet to prove to the whole world how much better then everyone else he is._

_As one of the man reached for him, he jumped away with a high pitched shriek. On the man's hand now was a huge burn mark. Tom quickly looked around trying to find anything that could help him escape. __Concentrating on the metal pot he saw at the only windowsill in the street he watched as it fell loudly on the head of the second man killing him. Blood spilled from his head marking the dirty London snow. A silver glint got his attention and with a quick glance he noticed that the first man was still on the ground holding his arm and cursing. Quickly snatching the thing he noticed it was a pocket knife._

_He didn't know why, or even how, but in his fear he run towards the man still holding his injured hand and stabbed him, the knife looking longer then it was moments before. He watched as blood covered his hands and as light left the socked eyes of the man he just stabbed. The blood kept flowing out of man's body like a river and dark eyes followed in with fascination. The red traces left in it's path were sinister. But to him, i__t was all strangely calming; the feeling he got watching as life left the body, the smell of blood that was obvious in the air._

"Tom," Emma whispered worriedly, trying to wake the pale sweaty figure that was trashing in his bed. Fabius and Devlin were also awake, standing next to her and watching with worried eyes. Well, Fabius looked worried, Devlin's face was unreadable.

_He calmly walked away from the scene and kept on walking and walking until he was too cold and too tired to keep going. It was already break of down when he fell unconscious in the middle of a street._

_But as he was falling he realized something was wrong. The eyes of the man he killed weren't the right color; they were yellow, like the eyes of a monster hunting it's pray. And the blood that was covering his arms and body, it wan't that of his victim, it was his._

As Tom suddenly opened his eyes he saw three faces watching him, two showing concern and one a mask of blank disinterest. His eyes flashed the green of the killing curse as he slowly got up. Emma reached to help him but he slapped her hand away burning her.

"Get away from me," He said icily.

Quickly getting up he left the room leaving one confused, one angry, and one hurt pair of eyes to stare after him.

* * *

The next morning when he joined them for breakfast Tom noticed that Emma's hand was in bandages He hadn't thought about it much last night since he was too shaken and had his instincts screaming at him that there was something wrong. But now he felt slightly sorry for hurting the girl.

So the moment after greeting them Tom made a rather awkward apology as he always did when he actually meant it (Which was close to never). Emma had just waved him off saying how Artemisa had already healed the worst of it and will heal the rest later that day.

They all set in silence after that, unwilling to bring up last night, but also to conscious of the happenings to just randomly talk about something else. Tom had lost control of his magic last night, and even though non of them would admit it out loud, they were scared by how ugly the things could have ended up. Emma was extremely lucky to get away with only a burn.

It was only as they silently walked to their classroom that Emma dared to ask, "How are you feeling Tom? You don't look well."

He didn't give her an immediate answer, staying silent for so long that Emma thought he wouldn't answer her at all.

"A few things are on my mind but otherwise I am fine."

And silence again. Fabius and Devlin didn't even try to keep the conversation going.

It was getting tense between them when Tom finally spoke up again, "I will be going to the Forbidden forest tonight. Anybody caring to join me?"

"There is no way you can get there without being noticed. You know that every activity in school is being closely monitored," Fabius warned him.

"I have to go. I have a bad feeling about something. Remember our first trip to the forest during the first year?"

"We can hardly forget," Devlin said, "Your idea almost killed us!"

"Quiet down," Emma hissed.

"How can you side with Tom after he hurt you," Devlin started but was interrupted by Tom.

"Yes well... I have a hunch something is wrong with the creature we encountered during that _adventure_."

Fabius was about to say something but couldn't since professor chose that moment to walk in. Giving Tom a meaningful stare he took his sit.

It was well passed midnight when Emma, Tom and Fabius had returned to the dorm. Devlin was already there, since he refused to go to the Forbidden forest with them.

"Nothing! We completely wasted our time and risked being expelled for nothing," Emma announced their disappointing fail.

Devlin was loudly snickering at their experience, while Fabius watched the whole thing from his bed with tired eyes. Tom was sitting on his bed trying to meditate.

"Why were you even chasing some kind of magical monster? It could have been Hagrid's pet for all you knew," Devlin informed them.

"No creatures could be found in UK or whole Europe for that matter, that has eyes like those we encountered. And I am certain not even Hagrid could get monsters like that for his pets," Tom said calmly.

"Monsters like what?" Emma questioned.

Tom got up from his bed and started frantically walking around the room as he explained, "There were legends around magic world, especially in Asia, about some kind of creature that was hunting down wizards, wizards with powerful dark aura and feeding on them eventually killing them. It had many different names trough the centuries. It is supposed to be an extremely powerful and old being with intelligence that rivaled that of a highly capable human."

"I remember the stories my mother used to tell me when I was little about it to make me behave," Devlin said.

"Meaning we were chasing a legend because Tom was bored. Again," Emma concluded.

"That's not true," Tom started but seeing both Fabius and Emma give him the look, corrected himself, "Not _completely_ true. My point is, when we saw the thing for the first time I never really bothered to figure out what kind of monster we encountered, but last night I realized that I could only match those yellow eyes with four black triangles with a drawing I once saw. Or rather, Voldemort and Dumbledore saw. It was from some crazy Asian guy who was trying to convince the Wizengamot that the creature killed his friend, but left him alive. As always the old moron was the only one who believed the story. That reminds me," Tom turned to face Emma, "Thanks for getting me Dumbledore's memories sweetheart, even if they didn't hold the information I originally wanted."

"If, hypothetically speaking, that creature still exist, then how are _you_ still alive?" Devlin asked bluntly.

Fabius narrowed his eyes in thought, "Better question, how did a simple spell took him out long enough for us to run."

"That spell wan't simple!" Tom shot back, obviously offended.

The other teen just shrugged, "It wan't that complicated and powerful either."

"Maybe it didn't attack because of one of us, all of us, that were there that night," The curly haired girl suggested.

"Like who? Certainly wasn't because of us four. I can't see any of the other three girls being responsible either. I guess Din is the only stinky one. But if memory serves me right, he was as terrified as the rest of us." Fabius analyzed.

"Could be that the creature, that we still aren't sure even exists, recognized a certain bloodline and decided to stay back," Emma said, "If you think about it, someone had to create such a creature for it to be the only one out there. Meaning, if it hunts down dark wizards, it could have only been created by another dark wizard who wanted to get rid of the rest and was capable of controlling the monster, or it was created by a what we could call light wizard to hunt the opposite side down."

"That way one of the eight Slytherins from our year has the ability to control the beast!" Tom concluded enthusiastically, "Looks like we now know who committed the murders of the students in this school!"

"You can't be serious. We aren't even certain of the existence of the magical creature. How can we assume that it was capable of freely walking into the school," Fabius said.

"You aren't sure it exists. I am. This is so good!"

Devlin mumbled something, but he was ignored.

"The houses don't fit. There was one Claw, one Lion and one Puff. Doesn't sound like a secret dark society to me," Emma noticed, "I mean, I can see both red and blue interested in Dark arts. But a loyal, naive Puff?"

"Point there," Devlin agreed with her.

"The idiotic forever-dead-lasts are easy enough to manipulate. Someone could have convinced them to start using Dark magic," Tom said dismissively, "Not to mention that there are spells and potions used on a daily basis that are accepted in magic world but also belong to the dark arts category. However... Not a single Slytherin was attacked by now. And to be honest, this house has the easiest targets since we sneak around the most during ungodly hours. Hm..."

"How 'bout we continue this game of speculation some other time. I am getting sleepy."

Two nods and one dismissive wave letter, and the lights went out leaving the lonely figure to walk around the silent room in circles incapable of making the overactive mind to take some rest.

He was going to contact twins and see if they could dig something out.

* * *

_"Kohar! I have the writer of the book you were decoding! The handwriting is the same I am certain of it. And the name is Leonardo Skotadi. Rings any bells?"_

_"You know it doesn't. We share the same knowledge base. But it's a start. Maybe if I found his diary or some other more personal book, I could figure out his way of thinking. And... Tom?"_

"Tom, would you mind informing me when you plan to contact me? Or are you going to make it a habit to just show up in my mirror? What if I was naked?" Kohar asked angrily.

"I would've taken the picture and gave it to Fabius for a birthday present," He answered nonchalantly.

Kohar could hear her sister giggle, and she blushed a tomato red mumbling something about idiotic teenage boys.

Tom rolled his eyes, "Oh, grow up, Kohar. As interesting as it is embarrassing you I am not here to chitchat. I need you or Adiy, or any other person sworn to secrecy to do a little research for me."

The word research got the needed attention from the twins.

After quickly explaining them what he needed, he also heard a brief insight of how things were going back on the island. Decoding was slowly moving forward, but it was too slow for anybodies liking, Adiy was still hunting down the book, unsuccessfully, the only good thing was that the young teens were getting stronger and stronger day by day. Soon, as a team, there won't be anyone ready to mach them.

"That's good to hear. Is that all?" Tom questioned.

"No. There is one more thing. Does name Leonardo Skotadi ring any bells?" Kohar asked.

"Leonardo Skotadi. Skotadi... I think Skotadi was the family to which the dark magic library belonged to. But the only Leonardo I know of was a muggle and an artist," Tom said, he closed his eyes in concentration, "Wait! Leonardo Skotadi! Find Aminah. She has the book with family tree of the Skotadi's. There was something she found interesting in the book. Can't recall what. I am expecting an update soon."

With that last sentence Tom disappeared.

_"How does he know what book Aminah has now when he is miles away?"_ Adiy thought for a moment and she came to the same conclusion as her sister in a second,_ "He totally used us to test some theory about brain connecting, didn't he?"_

_"My thoughts exactly,"_ Kohar answered grimly,_ "Although, he is probably using some other method to store everything they learn in his own brain. Can't imagine him sharing his thoughts with anyone."_

_"Still, he did mention something at one point... Though, I can't remember exactly what he had babbled about."_

_"Can you please go and find Aminah? I don't feel like leaving the room right now."_

_"Don't have to. She is here, in the library, like always,"_ Adiy informed her sister as she turned to walk towards the place the mentioned girl normally occupied.

Aminah was a part of the Tom's dark circle. She looked and acted incredibly normal and yet, of everyone who knew her, no-one would ever use that word to describe her. Her face not overly pretty nor ugly was framed with shoulder-long sandy hair. Two brown eyes were critical to everything around them. She was rather introvert and calm. However, it was nearly impossible to understand her. She was unpredictable and sadistic. She also had a special talent. Aminah could notice the smallest traces and irregularities in magic even when other more capable wizards couldn't. She seemed to be extremely sensitive to those things. And she was also a huge bookworm with unrivaled thirst for knowledge, and only knowledge. Power didn't interest her.

Adiy easily found the girl and grinned when she noticed the book in her hands. On the covers one could clearly read the golden letters in three old and two newer languages, Skotadi. Exactly what Adiy needed.

"I am not going to help you," the quiet voice stated.

"Actually, you will. Since it was _Tom_ who sent me here," Adiy said, making sure to pronounced the name of her adopted brother with as much sugar as she could muster.

At that Aminah looked up, her face blank.

"The name we are looking for is in that book you are holding. Leonardo Skotadi. What can you tell me?" Adiy asked forcing a smile. She always did dislike Aminah, who for some reason, only ever followed what Tom said. The girl was obsessed by him and it annoyed Adiy to no end.

Aminah only regarded her calmly, "I shell send my observations to him as soon as possible."

Kohar appeared next to her twin and sighed in annoyance, "Don't be stupid. We need that information now, there is no point in you sending a letter to Tom only for him to send it back to us."

"I dislike you," The girl stated bluntly.

"And I you," Adiy returned, "But that doesn't change the unfortunate fact that you'll have to tell us what you know."

"For Tom." Kohar added.

"Or we could always beat it out of you," Adiy offered.

The girl didn't even flinch, only kept staring blankly at them.

_"Good God, Adiy! We aren't going to use violence! We are above that!"_ Kohar yelled at her sister in her mind.

_"I am most definitively not."_

The two sisters continued having an argument about the usage of violence in their minds and were surprised to hear Aminah suddenly speaking, "Leonardo Skotadi and his daughter Athena Skotadi are the last two living heirs of the family since the year of there deaths ins't marked yet," she started showing them the names and the years of birth, "You can't see the name of Athena's mother here, but if you look back, you can see that the names of both male and female marrying into the family are written down but in other ink with possible mix of blood, obviously added by magic different then the one the book holds. It is impossible to add the name only by hand, magic needs to be included. Which is why I concluded that Athena's mother either has no magical powers, or she never got a chance to include herself. It is obvious that the book relies on the magic and blood of Skotadi to write down their names, time of birth and death. If they brunch too far, book stops writing their names down. That way, only those who actually hold the power of the family are being memorized in here."

The twins nodded, waiting for her to continue. She continued her explanation all the while showing what she was talking about.

"There aren't any specific information about any of the members and the whole book only holds their names and dates that I already mentioned, as well as the connections between the members. The dated go far back, the first one is from 358. although the book was created decades later. I am not sure how they knew about the names and dates that far in the past. The book holds magic with is protecting it from destruction. There are some obvious attempts at destroying the book, one or two being serious enough to leave a mark on the magic protection of the book. However, as you can see, all were unsuccessful."

Kohar narrowed her eyes at the book, she could feel that it had its own magic, but that was it. She couldn't feel any variety in magical aura that Aminah was describing as if she was talking about the weather.

"Now for the most interesting part," Amniah announced, once again returning to the page with the last two living Skotadi she continued, "Those two names have additional magic on them. Judging by the aura I can feel, one of the people who tried to destroy the book, the most resent and most powerful one, was also the person who messed with the last to names. If I had to guess, I would say it was non other that the Leonardo Skotadi, the one you are looking for, and the one of the last two living heirs of the family."

"How do you know that?" Adiy questioned.

"It's the only logical conclusion. You see, both names were altered, or rather stopped from doing so. Looking trough some other names, I noticed that there were people who had more then one name, or even what looked like a nickname added to their given name. My guess is that the book adds the name you are best known under as an addition to the name given at birth. Those last two names have a magic stopping them from doing so. Now, in case of Leonardo, magic was added years after his birth, to stop the book from adding another name, in case of Athena, the magic was added the moment she was born. Maybe even before that. Which is why I concluded that the additional magic on the names belonged to Leonardo."

"And you are certain there is no other Leonardo Skotadi appearing before this one?" Kohar asked. The book written by him that they had seemed too old to belong to someone as young as this Leonardo seemed to be.

The answer was a simple plain yes.

Adiy sighed. They were stuck again. No matter how far they seem to go, they always end up back at the beginning, with another mystery, another puzzle, another lie.

"Anything else?"

"No."

"We'll be leaving you to your reading then. Thank you," Kohar said, _"Adiy, we should call Tom. I have a few ideas of my own about Leonardo and Athena but I would like to hear his opinion as well. He knows non-magical world better then we do."_

Her sister nodded and they both left the library to return to their room. The night was turning to be one of the long and restless ones. Less then an hour later twins were sitting in front of a mirror after telling Tom everything they have found out.

"I can only assume you contacted me straight away because you already have some ideas in mind," Tom concluded after their quick story.

Kohar nodded, and Adiy spoke up, "Kohar had an interesting brainwave, which I have to agree with."

"Skip to the point. I don't have all night," Tom interrupted, his head felt like exploding for at least half an hour now and he was in a bad mood.

Kohag gave him a hard irritated stare before continuing, "Well according to the birth time of both Leonardo and Athena, they are both young. The daughter being our age. Meaning she was fifteen now. However the whole underground residence, if one can call it that, looks like it had been deserted for longer. It crossed my mind that, if Aminah was correct about Leonardo being the one interfering with the magic of the book, he had still lived on this island up until one point when he left for some reason. Notice I said island and not the residence, even though he definitively knew about it. I concluded that at some point he left the island. Maybe someone was after him, since he was the last living heir of the powerful bloodline. It would explain his attempts at destroying the book as well at tempting with it. He was trying to hid his identity by creating a new one, as well as the real identity of his daughter, later on."

Tom cut it again, "If I am following your train of thoughts correctly, you are under the impression that Leonardo Skotadi and his daughter are hiding either somewhere in muggle world, or among the wand using wizards. That doesn't exactly narrow down our research, does it? He and his daughter can be right under our noses and we may never now."

"You interrupted again. And if Kohar is correct, it does narrow our research," Adiy countered, "We thing that, Athena, or whatever she calls herself out there is the big bad world, is unaware of her heritage. The best way of hiding the truth would be if you don't even know it."

"And since muggles have an option of changing their name..." Tom whispered, "Leonardo could have easily changed his name even more then once, and gave a completely different one to his daughter in a matter of days so that the book would have one name written down, but all the other records another. If he had decided to hid in the muggle world. Which would have been his best option. Using his magic he could create a person that otherwise doesn't exist and disappear among the billions. He could be a farmer or a successful businessman. But we are still stuck including everyone on planet as a possible Leonardo."

"There is where Athena comes in. Now, we know he has a daughter, and we are suspecting that he is hiding in muggle world since it is the most likely scenario. We have to assume that he had changed his date of birth in all records he has as a muggle, but his daughter probably has the same birth date on all of her records."

"He could have changed those dates as well," Tom reminded them.

"Yes, but by how much? A day or two. I highly doubt he would have changed them more than that. He wouldn't want the attention that would come from magic world if he overused his magic on non-magical people. You once mentioned that the Ministry of Magic follows those kind of things. Maybe they would have picked up on his magic. And what about his wife? We can't tell whatever she knew of his heritage or not. If she did, she could have helped. But if she didn't..."

"It's still to big of a shot to find a person like that. He could be anywhere in the world."

"Tom!" Kohar practically yelled, "Athena!"

"You keep yelling Athena constantly. If she doesn't know about her family, which is more then likely, how would her existence help us?"

"You can be incredibly stupid and short sight at times," Adiy stated, "Athena had to learn to control her magic somewhere. Whatever she was home-schooled or went to those wand waving schools like the one you are going to for a reason beyond my understanding, she is most definitively written down in some Ministry of Magic as either a daughter of those muggles, or a girl coming from wizard family."

The twins were grinning widely at Tom's startled expression.

"So tell us, brother dearest, how hard will it be for you to get documents from different parts of the world with names of every person born in November 2022?" Kohar questioned.

He just huffed, "Hard. I can get the ones around Europe easily. But the rest of the globe... It's nearly impossible since I don't have the connections I need; Nor the information I could use."

"I'm sure you'll find a way to manipulate your way to the documents. The exact date of Athena's birth is 13th November 2022. Bye."

* * *

It took Tom a week of pulling every connection he could to get the documents from the three main schools in Europe, all the smaller ones, as well as some additional names of people who were home schooled. It was around midnight and he was one of the five Slytherins still occupying the common room.

Quickly surfing through the pages of names he was narrowing the possibilities. People he knew didn't posses the power of a dark magic, people that were from famous pure-blood families that would never allow one of their own to merry a mysterious guy that showed up out of nowhere, people who's birthdays were too far away, etc. This far, he had already removed more then thirty people, and he was still going trough the south Europe.

He was, however, interrupted moments later as Emma quickly took a sit next to him, obviously trying very hard to keep quiet. The other Slytherins ignored her completely and Tom was planing to do the same but hearing her uneven breathing he decided to look up, if only to give her the briefest of glances.

The girl was as pale as ghost and seemed to be in state of shock. Her lips had almost gone blue because of the trouble she had while breathing. She was trembling, her eyes huge, alarmed and almost black. And at the same time, she looked lost. As if not completely aware of her surrounding. Tom frowned. Something was evidently wrong.

Sighing he picked up the documents and turned his full attention to the terrified girl waiting for her to speak up. Except she didn't. She just continued sitting there like a cornered animal, looking around in clear despair. Tom reached for her hand but she jumped away, although the contact seemed to remind her why she was there as she kept staring at him for a long moment. Taking a shaken breath, Emma whispered in a broken voice, "I... I need to...talk with... you. Privately."

Tom only nodded unsure of what was happening, but quickly deciding that, judging her state, it would be best to humor her for now. He dragged her to their dorm. Hitting Fabius with a pillow and waking him up he barked at the teen to get out, which the other did without any fuss once he noticed Emma nervously looking around the room as if something was going to come out and attack her any moment. Fabius had turned to wake Devlin as well, but noticed that Melfoy wasn't in his bed.

Tom had quickly placed a silencing charm over the room once the door closed behind Fabius and turned to face Emma somewhat worried. She was looking even worse then moments before. His first conclusion was that she had unlocked her memory, but he couldn't think of any past experience that could have shaken her up so badly. Dismissing that possibility he was left clueless of what was going on.

"Emma?" He tried to get her attention, keeping his voice as calm and leveled as possible.

She didn't answer.

"Emma, what do you want to tell me?"

The curly-haired girl mumbled something too quiet and too quick for Tom to make out the exact worlds.

"You can speak here. No-one will hear what you say. I am here for you. You can trust me. I won't tell anyone, I promise," he said in a warm, chocolate-like tone. His promises didn't exactly mean much since he rarely, if ever, kept them, but he was hoping it would calm her down. It seemed like it was working, somewhat.

She was muttering to herself again, but this time Tom could catch some words, "...won't tell... blood-bond... can't tell..."

_"Ah yes, the blood-bond we share. I haven't thought about that one. But apparently, even in her utterly stressed condition she did. Smart girl. I can't tell anyone even if I want to."_

"Yes Emma. We have a blood-bond. Whatever I hear, I will take it to the grave with me."

_"Hopefully, not literally."_

It took Tom another hour of convincing and persuading to actually make Emma create a full audible sentence, but she finally started talking, even though she kept stumbling over words. Not to mention that she looked near tears now as well. Altough, Tom guessed tears were better then shock.

"I, I was g... going to the Room... Room of Require...ment... to... practice the... the wand...less spell you show...ed me. The, the one... that allows me to... to call for objects...I... sent into...nothing. When... when..."

Tom took her hand as an encouragement to keep talking.

"When... Devlin and Din left the ... room together. They... they were whispering something... and ... and I understood ... that they were... plotting against... you. I... I tried to... follow them. I couldn't believe... what Devlin was saying... but, but then, Din... he, he noticed me. And he said how... how Devin might...have something to, to tell...me. He smirked at me and...left... we went into the room... because Devlin didn't want to be, to be overheard... and... and... we started arguing... he... he said he wanted to hurt you... and that... that Din was going to help him. At some point of... our yelling and screaming... we started to dull... we were both trowing curses at... at each other. He was getting angrier and angrier as... as was I. He was... screaming how... how you destroyed his fam...family and, and how I shouldn't side...siding with you, since... since I was just a useless mud...mudblood. I knew he, he only said that to me be... because he was upset and wasn't thinking clearly, but it, it still made me...see red... Then he started using dark arts and... I... I tried to, to calm him down. But, but he...he...he... he tried to use unforgivable on me... and barely missed. He... he tried to torture me... and... and..."

Emma was having hard time breathing again and Tom tried to calm her down moving his free hand up and down her back. He didn't remember moving closer. His hypnotizing dark eyes met her wild stare. He once again noticed how different the color of her eyes was from the more familiar brown.

"What happened next Emma?" He asked quietly in a comforting tone.

"I... I..."

"You can tell me anything. I won't judge."

"...killed him."

Her whisper was silent, and Tom wouldn't have heard the last two words if he hadn't been so close to her. His brain however couldn't work out what he just heard. It wan't the concept of Devlin's death that was hard to grasp, it was the fact that Emma Rynolds, the last person anyone would ever suspect was capable of murder, had killed someone, had killed her friend, her on and off _boy_friend.

"I...I... I killed... I killed someone..." she repeated as the full meaning of those worlds was only now sinking in, and maybe it was. She had been in state of shock only minutes before. "I... I killed Devlin."

And the crying finally started. Tom just sat there hugging her, unsure of what else to do. After all, he had no problem with his kills. But the girl in his arms was most definitively going to loose sleep over her actions in years to come. It was now obvious to him why she wanted to speak with him privately. Even in shock, her mind had functioned well enough for her to seek out the only person who couldn't rat her out and ask for help. Well, she hadn't exactly asked, but Tom knew she needed it, or her next destination would be Azkaban. Not exactly the best location for a long holiday.

One had to appreciated the irony of the situation.

Tom's mind started racing.

She had probably left the body in the Room of Requirement, he needed to get there before somebody else does. Also, he wasn't certain if Ministry knew if unforgivables were used in that Room. Hopefully not. Emma hadn't mentioned how she had killed Melfoy. Was it Avada Kadavra? Or did she lose control of her magic? As long as there were no obvious marks on the body he could think of a cover story.

Cover story. They needed one, immediately. There was also a problem of anyone seeing her on her way to the common room. Even though students were informed some time ago that Aurors would had left Hogwarts, the truth was different. They were still nosing around. Making it even more important to get to the body.

Damn. Din would know that it was Emma who killed Devlin. He saw them together, or maybe he would think that Emma told me everything and that I killed him? Bad news either way. I should be capable of dealing with Din. Chances are, that he would stay quiet on the topic. He has more reasons to stay quiet then to talk.

What are going to do about Devlin then. Faking suicide might be too random. It's too suspicious.

Aurors are still guarding all passages to the castle, so we can't make it look like an intruder walked in killed him and walked out. Unless we knock out a few Aurors. But the target is too adrift. Kill Aurors then as well?

Or maybe we could make it look like it was connected to the previous three deaths? All were from different houses. Make it look like someone declaring their hate towards Hogwarts? The previous three deaths couldn't exactly be linked either. I would still need to deal with the Aurors then.

An accident maybe? But what kind of an accident? Making a potion go wrong takes time I don't have, and the chances of a spell backfiring with enough force to kill him are next to zero. Drinking and falling of the Astronomy tower? He would need to actually get the alcohol into the body in case they can check somehow.

He didn't have enough information about Aurors in this time and couldn't tell how far they advanced in 100 years.

Huffing in annoyance he let go of Emma long enough to cup her face and make her look at him. Her face was wet from all the tears and curls were falling in her face, but she had stopped crying. He could see depression and acceptance in her swollen eyes.

She took a quick, sharp breath and tears started filling her eyes again. Tom quickly moved his thumbs over her cheeks removing the salty traces of tears already gracing her face.

"Hey, calm down. It's going to be alright."

A sob left her mouth as she tried to stop tears from falling.

"Shhhh... I'll take care of everything. You'll be fine."

Emma only nodded and let Tom coax her into bed.

"Sleep. You needed. And I promise, by the time you wake up there won't be anything connecting you to the happenings of tonight."

She only nodded weakly again, closing her eyes and falling asleep the in seconds. She was exhausted. But Tom could already see her waking up covered in sweat after a nightmare that he was sure would keep hunting her for a long time.

As he returned to the common room he noticed Fabius was the only one in there. The other teen had fallen asleep in one of the armchairs near the fireplace. Tom went to him, and shaking his slightly woke him up.

"Go back to dormitory, and don't allow Emma to be alone. Not even for a second. If she decides she need's bathroom, still follow her. She might have nightmares... scratch that, she'll definitively have nightmares. Try to calm her down."

"Alright," Fabius said, not even raising the question that was most certainly on him mind.

Tom absolutely loved the other teen for his insight at times. Anybody else would have already tried to find out what happened. But Fabius? He knew better. He knew not to ask questions that wouldn't be answered. He knew that if the information was meant for him, he would have already heard it. Without another word he got up and went to the room making sure to set a spell that would wake him up if Emma wakes.

Tom stared at fire as the other teen left. He needed a cover story. But for every story he could think of a problem of time or Harry Potter would raise. And Harry Potter was what annoyed him the most. It was clear from Dumbledore's memories that there wasn't a single story Potter would take at face value. Not after all the cover ups Voldemort pulled in Tom's place. That only left him with possibilities that would be the easiest to fake and the hardest to catch. Obvious choices for a cover up, but still to shady for Aurors to be capable of finding the perpetrator. An alibi was the problem as well. A murder that happened in the middle of the night. Everyone could be the malfeasant.

He was sitting there for what seemed like forever brainstorming on all the possible ways to hide the truth behind the death od Devlin Melfoy when a perfect idea finally hit him. He smirked. It was perfect.

Leaving quietly and sneaking his way to the Room of Requirement it took him ten minutes to actually enter the Room and see the body, but thankfully he never crossed paths with a single soul living or death on his way there.

The body didn't a single mark on it that could tell Aurors how he was killed. Taking Emma's wand out of his pocket (he had taken it while trying to comfort her) he checked for the last spell. It was a defending spell, meaning she had killed the blond teen with her magic. There were, however, no traces of magic that Tom could feel on the body, and his smirk only grew bigger. Something finally fell in the place and he started laughing.

It was time for the show to start.

* * *

"Good morning sunshine. How are you feeling?" Tom asked smiling at Emma.

She had barely even opened her eyes, but she quickly closed them again. The light too much.

"Come on Emma. Get up. Unfortunately for you, the world keeps going even when you feel like it should crumble. And you,_ my darling_, will have to join the chaotic reality, or I won't be capable of protecting you from getting a one way ticket to Azkaban."

"Could you allow me a minute to pretend it was all a bad dream?" She asked weakly, "And stop saying it out loud. What if someone overheard you."

"First, you can pretend it was all a bad dream for the rest of your life for all I care. Second, I haven't said anything compromising, its only an inside joke. Third, who could hear me. Fabius left the room an hour ago, and the last visitor of this room is... not with us any more. Dead Melfoy... have I miscalculated the dates? I feel like it's my birthday."

"At least one of us is happy," Emma muttered as she slowly raised in her bed.

Tom was on his feet moment after and was looking through Emma's things.

"What do you think you are doing?"

"Searching for make up of course. No offence, you look terrible. And you'll need to look refreshed."

"Where did you even get the idea that I have make up? I never wear it. Did you go through my stuff by any chance?" Emma asked, her voice raising.

"Yes, since getting angry at me seems to take you out of your depression."

"What do you mean my depression? How else am I supposed to feel? I. KI..."

A quick silencing spell on Tom's part made her lose her voice, so she gave him an angry stare.

"And besides being depressed, you are also hysterical. When I drag you of this mess, you'll owe me big time."

Emma quickly snatched a pen and a notebook that were on her night-table and scribbled something. She turned it moments later so that Tom could read: _I thought we were friends._

"I prefer friends with benefits, thank you very much. Because just in case you haven't noticed, there is a dozen of people out there who new Voldemort under _my_ name as well. And they would jump at the first chance to see me imprisoned. By helping you, I am giving them a free shot for them to send me to Azkaban with you. Not that they could actually keep me there. So be a bit more grateful that I am even helping you. I don't have to. Blood-bond only means I can rat you out to save myself."

Emma turned the notebook to him again:_ I am grateful. Blood-bond can make you do things for me (once I figure out how to use that part of it). And give me my voice back or my wand (yes, I know you took it. Who else?). This is getting ridiculous even for me._

"Well since you have enough humor left to try and crack a joke, meaning you want try something too stupid, here," Tom said trowing Emma her wand, and lifting the spell in the same go.

* * *

The second class of the day had been dragging out. It had looked like it will never end.

All four houses had gathered on the grounds together today to see some monster their professor Hagrid thought they should all learn about but couldn't disturb any other time. To say that all the students had found the class boring wouldn't have been completely true, some were actually scared. Therefore, apart from the ones trembling in fear, the rest of the class had been occupied staring around the grounds and at the tall towers of Hogwarts castle.

Which was why and how all the yelling and screaming started.

At first a single student noticed a tall figure on the far away Astronomy tower, and even though the day was clear and sunny, it was hard to tell much about the person standing there so near to the edge. He had however informed his closest housemates of the figure. And as it always was with students to bored to follow the lesson, in a few minutes (almost) every pair of eyes was on the dark shape that seemed to be looking for something over the edge.

Hagrid was trying to no avail to get the attention of the class back to the lesson at hand. But he also gave up once he noticed the figure leaning over the edge, as if to reach something there. He felt his blood run cold out of fear that the student on the tower might fall over. But the shape quickly returned to the safer position. And as he breathed out in relief and turned around to continue the lessons he heard the chilling screams.

"He fell!"

"Oh Meril!"

"Call help!"

"Professor! Professor Hagrid!"

It all blurred into the same buzzing noise as he ran to the school.

.

Fabius was sitting in Transfigurations watching the clock for the last fifteen minutes. Technically, he wasn't only staring at the clock. He had given the empty seat in front of him, as well as Emma and Tom a couple of long puzzled stares as well, but he had mostly stared at the clock. He was too engaged with the events of last night and the possible explanations to actually pay any attention to the class.

The dark-haired teen was aware that neither Tom nor Emma would give him any explanations unless he figured out the main frame by himself. Emma, because she fails to understand that he is more trustworthy then her beloved Tom. And Tom... well, Fabius knew Tom would say he couldn't because of the blood-bond, but he was certain that the other was just being all quiet about the happenings because he enjoyed being better informed and pulling other like puppets on strings.

The clock wasn't giving him any ideas. Moving slightly so that he could stare out of the window he caught Tom smirking looking out of the window as well with a smirk that Fabius, over the years, came to understand as the 'something's going to happen' smirk. Therefore he turned his attention towards the window as well.

Moments later he could hear screaming and watched terrified as a familiar figure fly towards the ground at lighting speed.

Horrified gasps rung trough the room as every student got up to see what had happened. Their professor was yelling for attention, trying to calm everyone down, but there was no stopping the wave of panic that spread around the class.

Fabius turned to watch tom with a most definitively fake expression of concern (if smirk from seconds ago was anything to go by) hugged a pale and clearly shaking Emma to himself whispering something. In his head peaces were falling and clicking together like a puzzle, a perfect picture of what was going on. He needed an explanation. Now. Taking a deep breath he walked quickly towards professor Bahbting.

"Excuse me Miss. Emma is getting into some kind of shock, do you mind if Tom and I take her to the hospital wing?"

"Not at all. And send me the nurse here with some calming potion. Looks like we'll need it," She said as few girls started crying hysterically. Her wand was already out and she was casting some spells Fabius couldn't place right away.

"Right away."

He practically run back to his Slytherin friends.

"Hospital wing. Now!" He barked at Tom who only nodded and proceeded to drag Emma out of the class.

Taking Emma's other hand Fabius muttered furiously, "What was that all about?"

"Not in the hallway. I'll tell you what you need to know to keep your mouth shut once we reach our destination and send the nurse away. Emma stop sobbing, all portraits are staring at us," Tom whispered calmly.

Fabius was looking daggers at Tom, but otherwise stayed quiet. If there was one saying that was (almost) literally true at Hogwarts, that it would be 'Walls have ears'.

"Oh Merlin. What happened to the poor girl," The nurse run towards them the moment the doors opened.

"She needs a calming potion, she just witnessed a terrible accident. We all did. And you'll be needed in Transfiguration classroom of the fifth year with more of the same potion," Tom whispered in what seemed to be a broken stressed tone.

"I'll get it right away. You should probably take some two. Both of you. Take her to that bed while I go and get the potion. Carefully."

"Of course Miss," Fabius quickly nodded.

They watched as the school nurse run around the room taking glasses and bottles with her.

"Here, here. Drink this. It'll make it all better. You two boys as well."

Fabius, who didn't exactly fancy being drugged instead getting the truth from Tom quickly snatched his glass from the nurse saying, "You should really hurry to the classroom. Everyone was in terrible shape, I thing I even saw one girl faint while we were getting out."

The nurse nodded and quickly left mumbling to herself, levitated bottles and glasses following behind her.

"Good one," Tom nodded. His face was completely divided of emotions, although he was keeping a careful eye on Emma as she drank the potion.

"Good one!" the other teen hissed back, "What have you done? Have you gone completely insane. You killed Melfoy!"

"Don't be ridiculousness, Devlin's not worth me moving my little finger, let alone killing him."

Emma choked on her drink and Fabius quickly sat next to her trying to comfort her as she started crying. He started talking in a low calm tone making her drink more of the calming potion. Once she seemed better he turned back to Tom still holding the curly-haired girl close.

"Then how do you explain the body, that looked a lot like a screaming Melfoy that passed the window of the Transfiguration classroom on it's way to meed the ground."

"Maybe he fell of the Astronomy tower?"

"No-one ever fell of the tower."

"Really? I am shocked. It sounds possible to me. Guess there really is a first for everything. To bad it happThat's ened to be our fellow Slytherin. They should really compel the edges of all tower so that suicidal teenagers couldn't jump off."

"You aren't funny," Fabius informed him as he turned to face Emma again. The calming potion was taking it's tool but he still whispered a few kind words trying to comfort her. Then he faced Tom again, only to see that the other was just staring into tin air clearly bored. As the only girl in the room took another shaky breath and tears started filling her eyes he seemed to finally snap.

"Oh, come on! Will you stop crying already? It's pathetic. You killed him by accident? What's a big deal?"

Fabius looked at him, his eyes sending the message, 'could you at least pretend to be worried?' before he realized what Tom just said, he looked back at the still slightly shaking girl in his arms and than back at Tom who seemed to be on the floor in pain.

"Emma darling," Tom hissed to clenched teeth, completely out of breath "Would you mind agreeing to Fabius knowing the piece of information I just slipped. It really hurts."

"It doesn't make any difference now, does it?" She replied emptily.

"Thank you."

"The blood-bond," Fabius concluded, then smiled, "That was the blood-bond."

Tom slowly got to his wobbly feet but still managed replay dripping with sarcasm, "No shit, Mister Obvious. Damn, it hurts worst then the Cruciatus."

"You've been subjected to one?" Fabius asked surprised.

"Maybe... it's not as fun as one would think when watching... or casting. Anyway. Let's not make a big deal out of this all situation. Emma lost control of her magic, Devlin ended up dead. I created a nice little story around the truth. And you know nothing about it. just go with that."

Emma was slowly dozing off because of the three cups of calming potion they made her drink so Fabius only continued to soothingly move his hand up and down her back.

"Lost control of her magic?"

"Yes. That's what I said. It happens even to the best of us. I fail to see what's such a big deal."

Fabius was aggravated as he responded, "The big deal, Tom, is that not everyone kills someone. Let alone their friend. What if she ends up fearing her own magic."

"She won't develop some irrational fear like that. Don't be stupid. And not everyone kills someone, because not everyone _can_. Not everyone is powerful enough." Tom pointed out, "If every student in this school took a wand out, targeted the person they really wish to see dead and shot Avada Kedavra at that person, how many would actually succeed in killing?"

"Taking into consideration the fact that their combined powers would work as well as the hypothetical situation of them knowing your connection to Voldemort, I'd say... everyone?"

"That's actually a good one. But you are missing my point. So back to the subject. I'd say 10%, maybe less. Which is way there are less powerful spells that can kill. Imagine then trying to kill with only your magic, no spell. As for Emma, killing isn't that ... whatever she thinks it is. I mean, there are so many people that killed someone. You, me, Edwen, Artemisa. Now she did as well. She'll get over it... eventually."

Fabius was just about to give Tom a rather crossed answer when he was the other teen get still and serious. Tom raised a hand for him to stay quiet, concentrating on something, then he quickly took Emmas hand as his face oozing with concern and worry. Fabius could hear the door of the room open and rolled his eyes. What else could make Tom act all compassionate? That's right, nothing.

As the firm steps closed on them he listened to Tom's quick whisper, "Wake Emma up and teach her how to distribute her brain. It should only take her ten minutes to figure it out, Aurors are... She finally fell asleep. She _actually _worried me when she started spacing out like that."

The curtains around then opened and Fabius looked up at the familiar green eyes of Harry Potter and there were two other Aurors he didn't know behind him.

_"Perfect. We couldn't get any other Auror here? Had to be Potter? Tom your plan better work or we are all screwed." _

"Tom, Fabius."

Tom got up and faced the famous hero, "Keep your voice down, she is finally asleep. I don't feel like getting all the air squeezed out of me again."

"I would like to talk with you two," Harry continued completely ignoring Riddle's remark.

"Sure," Fabius nodded and started to get up as well.

"You are leaving me to take care of her?" Tom questioned, "What if she wakes up? You know all of my attempts at comforting her were a disaster."

"I understood that Harry wanted both of us."

"It's fine, I'll have a word alone with Tom first. You stay here and watch her. Tom, if you will," Harry showed towards the door.

"It's not like I have much of a choice."

* * *

Tom watched calmly as Harry sent two other Aurors away to get the body and do Merlin knows what else.

Carefully closing the door, the older man turned to face him.

"Tee?" He offered.

"No, thank you," Tom answered with a smile that distinctly said 'I am not that stupid'.

Harry just smiled back, "You gave Emma too much calming potion."

"Trust me, it still isn't enough. She saw her on-and-off boyfriend test gravitation half an hour ago. How do you think she looked like?"

"Stressed, I guess."

"Hmm... That tone you just used was way~ too suspicious. You think _I _dragged her so that you couldn't question her. Or is Avada Kedavra finally having some affect on you and you are suspecting her of... whatever it was that happened to Melfoy. Surely you can't be that dumb, you did beat Voldemort after all. You know, as well as I do, that Sorting hat would have done Emma a great favor by placing her in Hufflepuff where she would have been surrounded by idiots fussing over her and talking about friendship, unicorns and rainbows, instead of cold detached discussions about poisons and... Dark Arts."

"I am not suspecting her of anything. I am just not writing her off either. We both know you can be rather... manipulative and persuasive. She has been under your influence for a long time now."

Tom rolled his eyes and made a face of somebody who had just hear the most ridiculous thing ever, "Shall I be flattered by the level of influence and power you think I hold? You wouldn't know this since you never tried it, and even if you tried you'd be terrible, no offence, but one can never completely manipulate another person. You can push then here and there in a certain direction, but humans... most humans, have their own brain. Unlike the puppets, they can think. Which is what makes pulling the strings that much more enjoyable and challenging."

"And which of my strings are you trying to pull now Tom?'

"It'd be no fun if I told you."

"Charming as always."

"One of my many talents."

"Too bad it isn't working on me."

"Isn't it? Last time I checked you and your little friends were still trying to chase Salazar Slytherin down for me. _That_ reminds me. Where is the smart one? Don't you think you'll need her for this, looks like it will require brains."

"I am perfectly capable of doing my job. And since you mentioned Hermione, you'll remember that we finally caught one of the people responsible for deaths of important wizards all around the world."

"Oh, yes. I remember reading about that. There wasn't much information in. How did you even found him guilty? From the mention of dear Hermione, it is obvious that she helped. But how?"

Harry smiled, "You still don't have it all figure out Riddle? I am disappointed. Let me explain it to you then. As you know, we, together with other Ministries of Magic around the globe, have been wandering around the dark forever, incapable of finding the perpetrators of the crimes. Not even Veritaserum worked. Until she got an excellent idea, thanks to you."

"Me?"

"Yes. You see, those wizards didn't need to use wands to perform magic, and she concluded that maybe they can avoid the influence of the potion somehow. She asked the right question and... you understand."

Harry watched in satisfaction as Tom's eyes flashed bright green but the pleasant smile pasted to the pale face still didn't waver.

"Interesting," Tom replayed.

_"Blasted Hermione! How old is she? Hopefully old enough to die soon. Damn her! How is Emma going to get around the questions now. Hell! How am I going to get around the questions? Don't panic. Stay calm."_

"Why don't you take some tee Tom? If you really had nothing to do with this murder, you have nothing to hide."

"You aren't even going to pretend that you didn't put Veritaserum in that tee."

"No point. You already figured that one out."

"I would still rather not take the tee. I actually have a lot of things to hide."

"I can always ship you directly to Azkaban then."

"You have nothing that could get me a sentence there."

"I could easily palm off something. Come to think of it, there are so many true things I wouldn't even have to make anything up. Right Voldemort? Oh, my bad. I completely confused identities. It happens."

Tom watched him for a long moment smile erased from his face, "Tee sounds great."

"Good to know you are willing to corporate. Now first question. Are you capable of separating your memories to avoid the affects of Veritaserum?"

"Yes."

"Are you doing it right now?"

"Yes."

"Which memories did you separate."

"I don't know."

"You don't know?"

"I am a bit better in hiding stuff from myself then your other victims. Doors to memories are locked, unmarked, any information about the door deleted and you can't order me to open them."

"How much are you hiding?"

"A lot."

Harry frowned. Tom Riddle really was a natural for this mind thing Unspeakables have found out about from their prisoner. However two could play that game.

"Can you tell me what you were doing yesterday night?"

_"Brilliant! I have no memory of last night and I can't lie. I might start to respect Potter. Now... what can I say that isn't a lie but doesn't answer his question either."_

"After diner I went to get some documents and was in Slytherin common room looking for information."

"What kind of information?"

"The pages are blank. I don't know."

"Keep telling me about your night."

"That was my night."

"Do you remember yourself going to bed?"

"No. I remember waking up in common room at... seven I guess."

"And when was the last memory of the night."

"I don't know. Didn't see any clock."

"But you know when you woke up?"

"I was judging the hours by the number of people in the room."

"Is there anything in between those memories that you can tell me?"

"No."

"Is that because you don't have memories in between those two you just told me about?"

_"Got me."_

"Yes," Tom mumbled. And he was so close to completely avoiding the whole subject!

But it looked like lady luck was still on his side as the two Aurors entered the room.

"Sir. We saw the body and asked around all the students except the ones you wanted to question yourself. They had all seen the figure move around the tower and try to reach for something before falling. The item, or rather, part of it, was in the hands of Devlin Melfoy. The other part was still hanging on the outside walls of the tower. It's some kind of necklace, probably a family heritage. The Melfoy family was informed of the accident and boys grandfather Draco Melfoy is on his way. We'll be testing the necklace right now."

"Continue the investigation and inform me of anything new that shows up."

The other two nodded quickly leaving and Harry turned to face Tom again, "If I haven't seen to so many of your cover ups, I would have actually considered a bullying went wrong story."

"Voldemort's cover ups," Tom corrected.

"Up until the Chamber of Secrets it was all you, Riddle."

Tom just smiled at him.

Harry was quiet and thoughtful after that and Tom wondered if he could just get up and leave, but before he could act as he wished Harry spoke up again, "You are covering something... someone. Who would you willingly try to protect?"

"This is getting creepy," Tom commented to himself.

"Can you name me your friends that are in this school?"

"Artemisa, Edwen, Fabius, Emma."

_"Damn. Stupid, stupid, stupid! Note to self, don't ever drink Veritaserum, ever again! Some people are smarter then you give them credit for."_

"One of those four? Fabius maybe..."

_"I can't ask where he got an idea that I am covering for someone, it would too be obvious. The effects of the potion should ware off in another 15 second... Pretend to drink more tee. Potter won't be paying attention since I really drank the potion until now. He probably doesn't know the exact duration of the effects the potion has, and he wouldn't think me capable of calculating that since Veritaserum has no taste or color. Meaning I need to make him believe I am still felling the influence and at the same time change the subject. Thank God I had a back up story in case he didn't believe the whole accident thing."_

"I was wondering, you still don't have the killer for the first three murderers."

"No. Why?"

"Could be the same person..."

"Good try Tom."

"Why are you so sure that is was me who killed Melfoy?"

"I know it wan't you. But you are trying to distract me from someone else."

"What? Don't tell me, I am not acting like a crazy happy maniac,_ cough_ Voldemort_ cough, _so it can't be me."

"No. Although, I can see it in the way you act. And the way the story is covered up. If you were the killer, you wouldn't care when the rest of us found out about the fact that Melfoy is dead. You would have probably made some naive student take a Polyjuce Potion and pretend to be Melfoy for a while longer. Make him have a fight with someone. If you were the killer, you would have made sure that another person was found guilty of your crimes. Instead, you made it look like an accident. You didn't want to ivnolve anyone else."

_"Polyjuce Potion might have crossed my mind. This is getting out of hand."_

"You do know you just described what Voldemort had been doing with his victims like when he killed that disgusting little snail of a man that totally had it coming. And then blamed the snake freak. That kind of thing isn't my style."

"You must be talking about your father and uncle. You see Tom, that is where you are wrong, or rather where you don't want me to be right. I have given a lot of thoughts to everything I know about both you and Voldemort, and he, he was supposed to be you. You wanted him to fulfill your goals, your ambitions and then you would have come back years later when your little minion had completed his job. No matter what kind of story you think up, the truth will still surface that Voldemort was more and less of everything you are. Less sneaky, less powerful, less patient, less deadly maybe even less intelligent. He was also more insane, more feared, more wild, more predictable, maybe even crueler. But all the traits he had, you have as well. He couldn't have fulled anybody by playing you if you didn't have enough things in common. So yes, you would have covered your tracks the way he did. Since you didn't, someone else killed Melfoy and you are willing to take the blame."

"To sum it up, you are under the impression that Voldemort would be willing to take the blame for somebody... Funny."

Harry narrowed his eyes, he was well aware that Tom had missed his point on purpose. The opening on the door interrupted them again and they both looked up at the Auror that entered.

"The item was used as a way to control Melfoy's mind," he stated, "We are searching for the owner of the necklace. So far we are certain he isn't at Hogwarts. The item also posses some kind of curse that we are still incapable of identifying."

Harry nodded waving him away. He was convinced Tom had something to do with the latest development, but he was also certain that unless Tom wishes to be caught, he wouldn't be getting anywhere. The satisfied smile on Tom's face was the confession he needed.

Tom stood up and came close to Harry, he leaned in and whispered in his ear, "You are right, _I_ prefer to blame others. And I have just the right person to blame outside this walls. Person who was glad to follow my order, and who was glad to be of use to me again. It really is great that wizards age slowly isn't it."

After that he calmly walked to the door turning to add, "There would be no point in questioning either Fabius or Emma, I already deleted the memories they had that could give you any clues. Have a good day Mister Potter."

The door closed after that leaving angry Harry to stare at it. He was frustrated by the fact that there really wasn't anything he could do about Tom Marvolo Riddle. Even if he cornered the Riddle, he would just bring the wall down. The only thing Harry could do, was wait for Riddle to make a mistake.

The door shot open and Drako Melfoy walked in. It was sad that, the older he was, the more like his father he acted, harry had once hoped that Drako would succeed in leaving the whole pure-blood rubbish aside. Judging by the blonds emotions, this was going to be a long day.

* * *

"Done. Famous Harry Potter won't be questioning either you or Emma. He might try to frame me though. I can't believe I just blow up all the hard work put into avoiding any trouble that could lead to Potter wanting me behind the bars. There's no way I can use him now," Tom said the last part sulkily but he seemed nonchalant moment later, "Oh well. If I am correct it will be more then worth it. Emma, you better not make me regret this."

"You are in one of _those_ moods," Fabius noticed.

"One of those moods?"

"Yes. When you just keep babbling because something most peculiar had happened and you are overly excited. Emma is still asleep and you are still casually informing her that she owns you big time. Tell me, what was so exciting that you would take the blame for the crime you didn't commit."

"You know me, I always take the credit for killings... Wait. How did you know I took the blame?"

"Why else would Potter give up on questioning us? The only thing I can think of is that you spelled out you are the brains behind the whole _accident. _So, I'll ask again. What got you so overwrought?"

"What was the name of Emma's father? Leonardo?"

"What the...? Don't change the subject!"

"I am serious."

"Leo. I think. What has that to do with anything?"

"And how old would you say he was?"

"Hmm. Around 50 years old... maybe less. What are you going on about?"

Tom ignored him and passed to stand by Emma's side, "Wake up!"

"We have given her three doses of calming potion. And after that I gave her two more. She won't be waking up any time soon. We could pass time while you explain what is going on."

"Of course she'll be waking up," Tom said taking his wand out (old habits never die, he really needed to start using wandless magic more), "I know where the book I have been looking for is."

"You think Emma has it? You have officially gone insane."

"She doesn't. But her father does."

"_Please._ He is a muggle. You can't be... you are serious aren't you?"

"Would you two quiet down, I am trying to sleep," a quiet tired mutter broke their staring. Both teens looked down at the curly-haired girl who was looking up at them, her eyes half closed and sleepy.

"Emma, I was wondering, you have finally figured out how to get that memory of yours, right?"

"I don't want it any more, what... what if it's locked because I killed somebody when I was little."

"Oh, come on darling. I don't think you killed anyone else. Actually, I am certain it wasn't even you who locked the memory away because you were traumatized. Somebody else wanted you to forget. Someone else wanted to make sure that you were never repeat what you saw. Someone with incredible magical powers," Tom said smiling.

"Why would anyone want me to forget something?"

"You tell me, after you get the memory back of course. But to tell you what I am thinking the memory would hold, I think you'll see a person you thought was normal use magic, possibly to protect you. Maybe that person even killed someone. It surprised you, you went into shock. But you weren't terrified, more like obsessed with what you saw. A naive child who couldn't stop talking about magic and the powers your fa... that person possessed, and how you must have magic too. Dangerous knowledge coming from a small girl running around and telling people she was special. Your memories had to go. Easy."

Emma stared at Tom for a long moment before nodding. She closed her eyes and concentrated, it was time she faced whatever it was in her passed that had to be kept locked away from everyone, even her.

* * *

**Author's note**: Took me forever!

I was so busy during the last few months and will be kept busy until August (Who knew university takes so much time. It eats away days.)

So, unfortunately I will not update before late August, sorry guys.

This was one long chapter, almost 15000 words (almost being the operative word)

Oh, almost forgot to mention, _in case you haven't realized it up until now the young adult in the very first chapter/prologue was non other then Leonardo (Emma's father)_

Sending hugs to:

cutiepie102

Tyran272

for adding me as their favorite (and alert) author

and to headphone harry for adding me as her alert author

Still in need of a beta reader!

Till the next chapter

Ciao, ^.^


	60. Athena Skotadi

**60. Athena Skotadi**

Diadalos was standing in the huge oval room that had no windows and only one small entrance. The ceiling was so far away that it would be impossible to see it if the craved symbols weren't shining with a dull blue glow. He was wearing an annoyed expression on his face staring at the wall. He had spent two years hunting down the damn book, but without success. He had no idea where his father could have left the book. Not that he absolutely needed the book per se. He was slowly revealing secrets in the room even without it, but the missing book would have speed up everything.

After all the fuss about the rooms, he was disappointed that, so far, he hadn't found a single spell worth using. It was mostly just random, centuries old babbling about supposed source of magic. Nothing of interest, really. Daiadalos had hoped to find some important knowledge in the room, he had hoped to find power. Power that would help him take a lead in the fight. Power that would lead him to other ancient rooms.

But he had no such luck.

Deciding there were better ways to spend the day then stuck in some centuries old room he left the dull light behind him and returned to the huge library of the castle. He walked down the numerous aisles, eyes scanning the neatly organized books. He kept wandering round and about until he finally spotted the book he had been looking for. It was a tick, dusty, old volume with dark leather cover. The tittle read **Etera pragmatikotita***(1) in curvy blood-red letters.

(A/N:*(1) Etera pragmatikotita means Other reality)

Smiling to himself he opened the book and leafed trough a few pages before coming to a stop on the page with a mythical beast on it. It looked like a mix of a wolf and a human. Yet, it was nothing like werewolves one can come across in your everyday magic-world. This monster was bigger and stronger if the drawing was anything to go by. The picture was well detailed and even the eyes of the ugly creäture could be seen accurately, big eyes marked with four triangles. Diadalos was quickly moving his finger over the text accompanying the horrid picture, muttering to himself, a smirk visible on his aristocratic face.

Holding the open book in one hand and drawing blood from his other extended arm with a quick cutting spell, he started chanting. His voice calm and cold.

"I nychta zygonei,  
kai rotisa,  
eite sas aresei eite ochi,  
gia eseis  
kynigos apo _skotadi,  
_ eimai sti diathesi ego,  
svakinithika apo sas exousia,  
i nychta zygonei." *(2)

(A/N again; translation: *(2)  
The night is approaching,  
and I ask,  
for good or ill,  
for you  
hunter of darkness,  
be at my disposal,  
I'm overwhelmed by your power,  
I'm in your debt.  
Extra Note: Do remember Leonardo _Skotadi)_

Diadalos could feel his power being pulled as it always happens when one was summoning a mystical beast, but the monster didn't appear before him as he had anticipated. He just felt that it was somewhere on Earth, not too far away, but not close enough either, eating on the power that was sacrificed for summoning. His eyes narrowed in annoyance and confusion.

When his brother had failed to summon the monster four years ago, Diadalos had dismissed it as Zopyros being an idiot without any magical talent whatsoever. That_ was_ the only explanation after all. Skotadi had been dead for ages now, and Koskinizos had disappeared centuries ago, even before the Skotadi did. How was it possible that he, Diadalos Amandus, failed? He was better then his brother ever was. Even if he wan't a rightful master, not being a Skotadi and all that rubbish, he was still the next best thing, with no other dark wizards to summon the hunter. Hell, even if someone did summon the hunter of darkness, the monster should still prefer him over some random, power-thirsty moron!

Anger started boiling in him as he threw the book away.

The damn book was useless! The only valuable thing in it was that blasted hunter and he can't even summon it! No wonder Skotadi gave up the book two centuries ago. Why not give the book away for a life of their own flash and blood? The only useful spell in it was the summoning spell and that one obviously wasn't working!

As if his day didn't started bad enough!

Frustrated, Diadalos stormed out of the library blasting a few shelves out of his way.

* * *

"Why haven't you told us any of this before?" Hermione cried angrily and Harry flinched in his sit.

"You have been following Riddle since he stepped into Hogwarts and told us nothing. How could you Harry?" Jinny questioned accusingly.

Ron stared, feeling of betrayal obvious on his face as he said, "We've been trough tick and tin with you buddy. Why keep something like this from us?"

"I just... Look, I am sorry. I really am. But Dumbledore and I thought that it would be better if no-one else knew about this. I mean, it's not that I don't trust any of you, but... We were fooled by Riddle million times by now, and... He always seemed to know more about the situation then he should. And well..." Harry scratched his head awkwardly, unable to continue.

"You and Dumbledore thought he would get information from us? Us?" Hermione asked, obviously offended.

"No, no, no. Nothing like that, it's just... One can't exactly make a portrait give away information. And the less people knew about it the better. So Dumbledore and I convinced hundreds of paintings all over Hogwarts to keep an eye on Tom and inform us of his doings."

"And you are only telling us this now because..."

"...Because even after almost five years of this, we have nothing solid on him. It's like he had been aware that we are watching him from the start. Others might've slipped something, but nothing that could help us catch him red handed. And now for the murder of Melfoy we have a suspect that had admitted controlling the boy and killing the other three students then killing him as well. The women used to go to Hogwarts around the same time Tom did and was two years younger then him. A Slytherin who moved to Italy during the war and returning here four years after Voldemort had been defeated. Supposedly, she hadn't seen Tom since his last year at Hogwarts, and was never in any alliance with Voldemort. She had even sent money to muggle-borns to help them run away during the war. When we asked her about her recent actions, she just said she had her reasons but refused to clarify them."

"You do know there are potions Ministry can use to make her talk," Ron said.

"I highly doubt they'll try something like that with recent political happenings," Hermione noted.

"Well they have to do something about all of this!" Jinny stated, "But back to that damn devil's offspring. How is it possible that you still have absolutely nothing to corner him?"

"Like I said, it's like he already knows whats coming next."

"You think he is always a step ahead of you because he knows what you are planing? But how? You should know more about him then he does about you."

"A step Hermione? More like a mile! And if I knew how he was doing it, I wouldn't be in this mess now. I tried everything. Speaking with Fabius Whitehorn even. But to no avail. Nobody knows what he is up to, and even if they know something, they are not willing to share. I couldn't get a word out of Emma Rynolds, who, being a Muggle born, should've been the first one to help. And even his so called friends don't know half the stuff there is. He really is ingenious. He always knows everything that is going on around the school, knows every person by name, what they are doing, even who they are dating. He is top student in every subject and no-one is coming even close to him. Seems to be spending a lot of time on additional reading, barely sleeps but still menages to look perfect on the daily basis. Has a complete control over school, even the damn rumors going around it. Everyone adores him, since he finds time to chitchat with everyone. And so on, and so no. And to top it all he still menages to disappear without a trace every now and than."

The other three occupants just stared at Harry as he kept ranting on and on and on about Tom Marvolo Riddle, listening to his aggravated and displeased voice.

"To sum up your long tirade, he most likely has a way of knowing our next move before we do. And we can't predict his or try to uncover any of his doings because everyone is smitten by him, plain and simple," Hermione concluded.

"What are we going to do about him than?" Jinny asked.

"I was thinking nothing," Harry tiredly admitted, "If we can't get him, we should maybe try to stay out of his way. At least for the time being."

The room was quiet after that as neither of the others wanted to admit that Harry was right and that really was nothing any of them could do.

* * *

Fabius put today's newspapers down in front of Tom.

"Interesting headlines, don't you think?"

"A 110 years old woman convicted of killing four Hogwarts students," Tom read out loud, before smirking, "One has to love blackmail."

"How do you blackmail someone into taking the blame for a murder? And why did you cover for the other three deaths as well?"

"First one, can't tell you, it's a secret. Second one, I want Aurors gone, it's that simple. And now for my question. Have you seen Emma today?"

"She is still avoiding you?"

"Obviously. Her witless excuse for doing so is having to study for O.W.L.s. I think even the biggest idiot can tell, she is only trying to avoid talking about the memory she finally succeeded in getting back. And, I am somewhat offended she hadn't tried to think up a smarter reason to constantly run away from me."

"You should just let her be for a while," Fabius told him, "I've been there where she finally remembered the memory and the girl was in between hysteria and shock, and the entire thing was probably just icing on the cake since the entire Melfoy incident happened barely a day before."

Fabius had only just finished the last sentence when the window in their dormitory started changing and the dark lake was swiftly replaced by an average height teen with short brown hair and sparkly chocolate eyes.

"Tom, Fabius," he greeted the two with a quick smile before turning serious again.

Fabius nodded in greeting, while Tom gave a wave signalizing the other teen to start speaking.

"I looked over some books and found about the creature you asked about," he showed them a picture of it as he continued speaking, "The monster is referred to as kynigos apo skotadi, hunter of darkness, or just kynigos or hunter. Not very original. There is little information about it's abilities and roots, but it was probably a pet to the Skotadi family. Like a loyal dog or something. I even think it's their creating. It can also be summoned by them. So far, I couldn't find the book that holds the summoning spell. It is possible that it isn't in the library, but I would like to think that such an important summoning spell has more then just one book it's written in. Especially since they didn't have to worry about others summoning their little pet, so long as they were alive. The name itself could be taken with two different meanings, first that the kynigos belongs to Skotadi family, the second that it is a being of dark."

"Did you find anything that would tell you why it hunts dark wizards?"

"Nothing. It is possible that dark wizards aren't even it's only targets, more like... preferred ones when it gets hungry. I came across interesting piece of information that could explain those rumors. You see, while the hunter would follow wishes of any Skotadi, it would take something in return. The animal feeds on their power, their dark magic. And being the creature of dark, it probably just prefers to attack dark wizards over the... not dark ones. There is, however, no proof that it actually hunts down dark wizards with an intention to kill them."

"You are still obsessing over that weird-eyed animal?" Fabius asked Tom.

"It's real, and powerful. Why wouldn't I try to find it? Although, I_ clearly_ won't be able of controlling it since Skotadi are still alive. But I think I might have an inkling about who can. Get me that spell Myron. Make sure others help you find it."

The teen in the mirror nodded before his image disappeared.

"You know a Skotadi?" Fabius questioned curiously.

"We both do," Tom answered smiling and left the room, leaving Fabius on his bed pondering over the possibilities.

* * *

Their final exam were Runes. Super hard and rather boring. Not to mention Emma's least favorite subject out of all she planed to keep. Yes, she was dropping History of Magic, everyone is (Tom Riddle and two know-all Ravenclaws didn't count). She had long ago come to the conclusion that reading history on her own accord was far more fun than listening to professor Bins.

But back to the Runes exam.

Emma's eyes fell on the big clock for the twentieth time. Time limit for this exam was an hour and a half, and 45 minutes have already passed. Curiously, she glanced around the room wondering how much had other students done by now. A few seemed to be nearing the end and one had already finished and was now balancing his chair on the two back legs and staring at the ceiling, evidently bored. She couldn't resist rolling her eyes in annoyance. God forbid, Tom didn't finish his exam first. From what the girl had heard (and saw) Tom Riddle was always the first one to finish, regularly in half the time given for the said exam (if not less). He clearly didn't need to think about his answers but only required time to write them down.

Sighing in frustration, Emma's eyes fell back on her exam paper. She still couldn't remember the translation for that one key word. Biting her lower lip out of nervousness she skipped the entire sentence and continued translating the rest of the text as the bothersome tick-tack sound kept counting the time left.

When the examiners signalized the ending, she quickly got up and fled the room, hoping to avoid Tom for a little while. Her escaping attempt was cut short by worried Terry Fudge.

"Hey. Slow down there Emma," He told her, falling in step with her, "I am so sorry I haven't had time to talk with you before. Especially after... well... you know... After Meloy... diedandall... I tried to find you dozen times before the exams, but it was impossible... and then... exams started and you... well you seemed fine... I didn't want to bring it up again... I mean... I know you two used to date and all that..."

They stopped in one of the hallways and Emma turned to face the older teen, face perfectly calm and collected.

He was staring at his hands and fiddling with his fingers for a moment longer, before gathering the courage to face her, "I just need to know how you are doing," he admitted.

"I am..." she hesitated for a moment, not sure of what to say next, she couldn't tell him the truth, "... better."

"I am glad," He responded with a small but warm slime, "If you are free, we could sneak out and go have some drinks."

Emma didn't even have enough time to think, let alone answer before a person she had been trying to avoid answered for her.

"I'm afraid she already had an appointment today. But... you can always try tomorrow. Or the day after that."

Terry looked daggers at smiling Tom Riddle who was now standing next to Emma, an arm carelessly placed over her shoulders. She didn't seem to be wanting him there any more then Terry did. But Tom looked oblivious of her displeasure as he started to drag her away. Terry thought of arguing with the other teen but gave up on it when he saw Emma giving him an apologetic smile and a wink that promised she would find him later, once she dealt with the self-absorbed moron who was pulling her dawn the hall.

Giving her a wave and a sympathetic look, he turned to go his own way.

* * *

Tom forcefully pushed Emma through the door of the Rom of Requirement. Quickly closing the door behind him, he turned to face the infuriated girl.

"This is important so save your yelling for later. Here, try to read this."

He pushed a piece of paper in her hand and Emma just stood there staring in him in confusion. He looked like kid on Christmas morning. Eyes shining in excitement and walking up and down the room with energetic steps. Deciding that anything she said now would be useless and that he would just wave her off, she stared in the paper given to her with narrowed eyes. She couldn't read a single word of what looked like a poem to her.

"Am I supposed to be able to read this?" she finally asked.

"Can you?"

"No. From what I can tell this is in Greek. The only thing I know in Greek is kali mera, kali espera, kali nychta. And I don't even know how to write that down."

"No wonder you always need help with the runes, when you can't even guess how to read that," Tom said in a tone that clearly stated everyone should know Greek and be capable of speaking fluently in runes, "Give me that. I'll read and you'll repeat after me until you learn it."

"Do I even want to know what I am going to learn?"

Tom just made a motion with his hand that said 'no you really don't' and started reading.

It took Emma fifteen times to get every word, of what she now thought was a very dangerous spell, right. Tom give her quick instructions on what to do next and moved behind her. Emma extended her arm, blood dripping from the fresh cut on her hand. She turned to look at Tom who gave her a reassuring nod before staring at her arm again.

_"Yes, Emma, you have finally went insane. The fact that you are just going along with another of Tom's insane whims should be the only proof one needs,"_ She mentally informed herself before she started chanting.

"I nychta zygonei,  
kai rotisa,  
eite sas aresei eite ochi,  
gia eseis  
kynigos apo _skotadi,  
_eimai sti diathesi ego,  
svakinithika apo sas exousia,  
i nychta zygonei." *(2)

(A/N again; translation: *(2) same as Diadalos chanting)

Blood on the floor started moving, drawing two circles, one inside of the other and four triangles surrounding the inner circle. The outer circle was, instead of a simple line, created from the written words of the spell. A shape started growing from the ground and Emma stepped back, the look of terror evident on her face.

First appeared the well developed back of the animal. Every muscle could be clearly distinguished behind the short honey-colored fur. It's long legs, that ended with sharp claws, gave an impression of speed. Head with small fox-shaped ears and jaw half the length of the wolf's was in a bow for a short moment, before the creature raised it and looked at Emma with it's burning yellow eyes, the triangles spinning lazily. It was three times the size of a human and there was a look of recognition deep in the glittering eyes.

The magic of the creature could be felt in the air and Tom almost choked because of how dense the air became filled with the raw power. Emma was about to take another step back, but he stopped her and pushed her forward instead. The hunter turned his head towards Tom and growled, showing it's strong teeth and making Tom quickly drop his hand and move away from Emma. It turned it's head to Emma again and with another bow waited for an order.

Curiosity taking over the feeling of fear, the curly-haired girl cautiously moved closer to the beast. Once in front of it she crouched and examined the face with fascination. A smile graced her lips and she started caressing the snout.

Tom's jaw dropped. Out of all the things she could have done, petting the thing designed to kill was certainly the most stupid, idiotic and unpredictable thing. And it had Emma Rynolds written all over it, so he probably shouldn't be as surprised and shocked as he was. Unsure whether he should start laughing at what was happening, go and try shake some sense into her or walk up to the closest wall and start banging his head as hard as possible at the stone, Tom stayed where he was watching the absurd scene before him.

The hunter wasn't any less confused, he raised his head to stare at the girl as if need to double check that she was indeed who summoned him. Emma grinned at it and hugged it's ugly head. She acted as it it was her little white cat she was hugging.

"Emma this is getting slightly weird, and even awkward. Would you mind letting go of the kynigos?"

The girl let go and met the yellow gaze, "So your name is Kynigos."

The hunter watched her in confusion, obviously not understanding a word of what she was saying.

"I bet it understands Greek, but you don't speak a word. Try Latin, you mentioned you used to study it at school, it could work," Tom said.

"My Latin is more like Tarzan-ian," Emma informed him, "But maybe you can do the translations. Kynigos might start to like you then."

"Come on, just give it a try already. And! And... introduce yourself as Athena Skotadi, please~."

"Why?"

"Just do it. For me," Tom pleaded.

"If I do that, you owe me a favor," Emma demanded.

"Fine."

"Great. I don't recall times and declinations so if you so much as snicker at my Latin, you owe me two more favors." She waited for Tom to nod before turning to the hunter again. "Here goes nothing. ... Meum nomen est Skotadi Athena. Kynigos voluptati est adversum vos." *(3)

(A/N: *(3) My name is Athena Skotadi. It is a great pleasure to meet you Kynigos)

The hunter bowed again and, to both Tom's and Emma's horror and enthrallment, answered back in rough voice, half barking the replay, "Suus servire tibi honos meus, Athena de domo Skotadi." *(4)

(A/N: *(4) It's my honor to serve you, Athena from the house Skotadi)

The hunter turned it's head to face Tom again, before facing Emma with confused eyes, "Queso... Cur est Koskinizo huc? Pater tuus esset, non probo."

(*(5) May I ask... Why is Koskinizo here? Your father wouldn't approve.)

"Koskinizo?" Emma asked turning to face Tom

"Could be translated as Riddle. It's in Greek," Tom told her although confusion also was evident on his face. His eyes adopted a thoughtful light after a moment.

Emma quickly dismissed the hunter after that and turned to carefully watch Tom.

"Where did you get the name Athena Skotadi from?"

"... a book... around the same time you killed Melfoy... Since you are not questioning the origin of the name, I am going to conclude that you know Athena Skotadi is your name, and that your father's real name is Leonardo Skotadi."

Emma stayed quiet while Tom's inquisitive eyes carefully scanned her face. She gave neither a positive nor a negative response to what Tom just said. It wasn't necessary, he hadn't asked a question, but made a statement. Her face was an unbreakable mask of calmness, but her eyes, which now matched Tom's in color, were betraying the storm that was growing inside of her.

"So... the memory must have been rather _enlightening. _Care to tell me more about it?"

"There is't much to tell," Emma whispered,"We were attacked, I watched my father kill, instead of being terrified of what happened, I was... enthralled. I couldn't shut up about what I saw, and my memory had to go. Just like that..."

Her eyes had been fixed on the same floor tile the entire time as if was the most fascinating thing on earth, and even though her mask of calmness didn't fall from her face, not even for a second, Tom could hear her voice crack by the end. A single tear left her dark eyes, and she tried to blink the rest of them away.

"You know... I think... I think he only wanted what was best for you. He tried to protect you. And failed. He probably hurts more than you do."

"You don't know how much a betrayal like this hurts, Tom. You have no family."

Tom slowly took a seat next to her and avoiding her eyes said in somewhat uncomfortable voice, "I do know how being all alone feels. I do know how horrid hunting emptiness is," then in a forcefully light tone he added, "and I have and idea of how to get your mind of the matter for a little while. How do you feel about a travel to Gringotts?"

* * *

It took a lot of manipulating and charming and even a few of illegal spells, not that Tom had any problem using illegal spells, and they were finally standing in a big room with tons of precious stones, gold and silver. The magnificent Skotadi vault.

"Either no-one ever uses the money stored in this bank, or good portion of old wizard families have some agreement with goblins to keep their wealth insanely big," Tom commented raising one of the precious stones.

"Why say that?"

"Because I have yet to see a single vault that isn't overloaded like this one and didn't belong to one of the centuries old families. And no amount of money can last forever."

"That's what investing is for," Emma informed him, she seemed excited, "Besides, I know for a fact that my father never uses the money stored in here. We always exchange Muggle cash... There are some instrument here. Can you reorganize any? They all look unfamiliar to me."

"Hmm... I can't tell what that pointy thing is, but those two porcelain globes next to it are used for ink and sand. Those five instruments are used to get dragon blood, and that... wait a second! Is that over there a time turner? I've never seen a time turner like this."

Tom quickly grabbed the 10cm tall hourglass set in stone with small shining stones of different colors instead of the sand. The stone surrounding the glass was simple enough, rough with three openings to see the hourglass. There was one metal ring at the very bottom and one at the top of the stone, both had engravings on them. Top one numbers, and bottom one words.

"Looks like it can only be used once and the date is already set for tomorrow," Tom noticed in disappointment.

Taking the idem from his Emma started turning it up and down, "Looks like someones failed attempt to create an actual time turner by infusing the time traveling spell with an object."

"How can _you_ tell that?" Tom asked taking the hourglass back and turning it around himself.

"You are forgetting _I _successfully infused my magic with a piano so that I can control peoples emotions by playing. After millions of failed attempts, one becomes capable of noticing similar attempts."

"Great explanation, except there is no such thing as Time traveling spell," Tom retorted.

"There is. You just don't know about it."

"And you do?" He asked sarcastically.

"No. But my father might," Emma told him seriously, "Well, I am bored. Let's get back to Hogwarts before someone notices we are gone."

* * *

Once in the Room of Requirement Emma took out the time turner and started playing with it again.

"Why do you still have that?"

"I want to see who'll show up tomorrow if I keep my hold on the hourglass," cheerful voice answered Tom's irritated question.

"You should have left it in the vault Emma. This is not good. Hey! Are you even listening to me?" Tom yelled after the girl, who just waved him off and carelessly opened the door fully intending to leave the room.

Door barely even cracked open when a spell was flung way. It didn't hit her but it did hit the little item she was holding and the force of the spell made her take a few steps back. The door was quickly shut again by annoyed Tom.

"Din," he muttered as an explanation and was about to continue when the cracking noise stopped him.

His eyes fell on the time turner along which the cracks were spreading with alarming speed. As fast as the cracks were appearing beams of blinding light were following. Emma dropped the device in fear and the sound of stone hitting stone was the last thing she and Tom heard before the device exploded leaving them unconscious.

It didn't take them long to wake up again.

Slowly getting up on his feet Tom marched up to the still laying girl and watched her with amusement. Emma was stunned by his behavior, she had thought he would start screaming at her the second she got up. But instead his eyes were laughing at her, maybe he hit his head to hard when the time turner exploded.

"It never cases to amaze me how terribly intelligent you are, and how astonishingly stupid mistakes you keep making. I can never be sure whatever you are ingenious but rush, or just crazy," Tom said rather entertained by something Emma had yet to figure out, "Do stay here and try to summon the hunter again. Ask him to bring the time turner to you."

"What time turner?" Emma asked getting up.

"The one you think you broke moments before, of course."

"What?!"

"Just follow the instructions Emma," Tom said already at the door, "oh and... don't leave this room."

With that he left a puzzled and rather angry girl alone in the room.

"Who does he think he is ordering me around like that," She ranted under her breath. But remembering the spell that had almost hit her moments before, Emma decided to follow his instructions for the time being. However, she got bored less then fifteen minutes after the hunter had left. He didn't seem to know her even though they met barely hours ago (strange), so she had been rather snappy and bossy with the poor thing. But who can blame her? Tom said Kynigos was supposed to be smart. Forgetting her moments after they met was not smart but stupid and even disrespectful! Not that she cared about respect or anything. No, she most definitively did not.

Swirling around in pure boredom, she glanced at the door again. What if Tom was just pulling her leg? She wouldn't put it past him.

Mind made up, Emma left the room and disappeared down one of the hallways. She was deep in thoughts and wasn't paying any attention to her surrounding, therefore she was startled when a hand closed around her wrist and turned her around. Well known dark eyes locked with her, but they were so cold and distant that it took her a moment to connect them with the more familiar calculating but warm look. But once she took in Tom's appearance, she needed to do a double take.

"What in the name of havens happened to your hair? And why are you wearing your uniform, Tom? School is over remember. You really hit your head hard in that blast," she said bluntly.

The teen opposite of her raised a brow elegantly, before saying sarcastically, "So hard it seems that I can't remember ever seeing you before, and yet you know me and speak with great familiarity. And what do you Miss..." he left an empty space for Emma to fill in, but since she stayed quiet, continued, "too-rude-to-tell-my-name think you are wearing? It's severally inappropriate, don't you think."

His eyes scanned her bare legs, short skirt and slightly reviling v-cut t-shirt, before reaching her face again. Emma looked down at what she was wearing, it was not inappropriate in any way as far as she could tell. She had been around Laurentia, definition for inappropriate dressing, for ages now. She would know to tell the difference. Meeting Tom's eyes again, she felt the light bubble in her head turning on as pieces finally fell into their respectful places.

"Oh. My. Drear. God." She said clipping every word and looking with terrified eyes at the dark teen before her. Then she started running. Tom was so surprised by her actions that he barely had enough sense to move out of her way and once his brain registered what just happened, he dashed after the weird girl.

Emma was running full speed, knowing well that Tom was much faster then her, she tried taking as many different cuts and passageway as one could, hoping that she would reach the Room of Requirement before Tom reached her, or lose him along the way. Cursing under her breath she took another sharp turn and crashed.

Without even bothering to put back together the complaining armor and only shouting a quick apology she took off again. But the sound made by her crash was enough to put Tom, who was standing only one hallway away unsure of where she went, back on track. He was closing in on her again when it finally hit her that she had a great advantage over him, and that advantage wasn't speed.

Pulling on her magic she made a small waving motion in front of herself and started chanting in her head, nearing another passageway she turned to watch Tom run into the invisible barrier, his puzzled eyes looked over the empty air unable to find what was keeping him there. He pushed his hand against the surface of the barrier feeling it still there. His eyes quickly found Emma as she waved at him and spotting a huge smirk on her face disappeared from the hallway. She was already far away when Tom's angry eyes changed to that of morbid fascination while the calculating smirk slowly found it's way on Tom's handsome face.

Emma was still out of breath when the hunter returned with the time turner. She snatched it and clenching to the device dismissed the beast moments before the Tom entered the room.

Taking in her breathless state and red face he smirked, "I take it you didn't find it necessary to take my advice and stay in the room. And then you have the nerve to tell me I have trust issues," he shook his head in a mocking disappointment.

"You could have informed me of the year, since you're so smart," Emma bite back.

"No need to be so cranky sweetheart, I didn't make you mess up. Now, do hand the time turner over here."

"Do you even know the spell to activate it?"

"Aha. Since it was never used before, I'll just need to mark the numbers of the date we are going to. That should probably do it."

"You mean to tell me you are just guessing on how we should go back... What if we can't go back because the date you set was after the date the time turner broke? Well be stuck in here forever. Or maybe we'll be trapped in between two times, seeing both but existing in neither."

"Emma just shut up. We will be fine. Here it is. Your hand please."

They reappeared in Gringotts, and with one fast glance around the room, Emma realized that they were in the Skotadi vault. She turned to face Tom who had just finished chanting something and was placing the time turner back on the shelf. He than turned to her and continue casting another spell. Emma watched both her and Tom disappear from view and heard him whisper, "Don't let go of my hand."

Before she could give him an answer, or question what was going on, she saw another pair of them entered the room, hours that had passed were on replay right in front of her. Dots connected in her head making her see a clear picture of what had been going on ever since the first time she had met Tom. She silently followed after him, but on the inside she was preparing for a big bang!

They sneaked back into the castle and back to their dorm, upon entering the room, Tom removed his spell and turned to talk to Fabius who was reading on his bed. Emma had other ideas.

"Fabius, would you mind leaving me and Tom for a moment? Please."

"Uh... Sure. Something happened Emma? You look ... strange."

"Nothing you should worry about. And do inform Din that his curse was rather useful to me, he is hiding somewhere around Room of Requirement. Bye, bye," she said forcing a smile on and shutting the door in his face, her tone changed to sickeningly sweet as she asked, "Anything you'd like to tell me Tom?"

"No, nothing that I can think of. Should there be something?"

Emma looked past him with sad and disappointed eyes, she looked like someone who had just lost all hope in humanity. But that look was replaced by cold anger once her eyes fell on Tom's diary.

"You know I am furious. So... tell me, what will the story be this time. Give me your most brilliant explanation."

"If you were to explain what has you so worked up, maybe I could try," he said nonchalantly.

Emma finally blew up and started yelling, "Why am I worked up! You have to ask! You lied to me from the very first moment I met you! YOU USED ME!"

"That's hardly an essential revelation for your momentary madness. I was always hiding something, I still am hiding things from you. You almost always knew when I was trying to manipulate you and just went with it. Non of it mattered before, so why does it matter now?" Tom was still speaking in the same calm and uninterested manner.

"There's a line! And you crossed it!"

Her magic was going wild around her, and it was so powerful and concentrated that it was visible to the naked eye. It swirled around her in dark smoke and Tom had to draw on his own magic for protection.

"You knew who I was the second we met on that blasted train, didn't you? Didn't you! That's why you stood up for me when the entire damn house wanted nothing more then to get rid of the _filthy mud-blood. _You were just pretending to be my friend from the very beginning, knowing what you'll gain!"

She stopped to take a breath and Tom quickly interjected, "It's not as terrible as you think Emma. You're making a big drama for no reason."

"Shut up," she whispered.

"I do consider you my friend."

"Shut up. Shut up! SHUT UP!" She fell on her knees and started crying, "I must be the stupidest, most naive person in the world."

"Emma would you please listen to me?"

"I trusted in you ever no-one else would, Tom. ...Leave me alone..."

"Emma..."

"Get. Out."

"... fine... but we will talk once you calm down."

The door closed softly behind him and the sound of his steps soon disappeared. Emma's small white cat crawled from under her bed, where it had been napping before the yelling started, and sneaked closer to the girl once the dark clouds surrounding her disappeared. Little head caressed a wet cheek, trying to comfort.

"Meow"

"I know," Emma whispered back, "I love you too."

"Meow"

"You think so?"

"Meow~"

"Any means to achieve a goal, was it? Right now, I am that desperate."

Up in the common room Fabius watched Tom take a sit with barely hidden curiosity, "Something happened?"

"Had a little ... incident," Tom replied with a bitter smile, "Nothing I can't sort out with a few well placed words."

"Emma looked rather depressed to me."

"_Nothing _important _happened_, Fabius." Tom's tone ended any future conversation on the topic.

"If you say so."

The silence embowered them after that, and the two didn't exchange another word for the rest of the evening. Fabius was pretending to be interested in the book he had been reading, and Tom just ignored everything and everyone around him trying to think up a sincere-sounding apology.

* * *

Hogwarts express was on it's way to London, taking students back to their homes for the summer vacation. Chatter and laughter were ringing trough the entire train, and in all compartments plans for the summer were lively discussed. All but one that is.

"Emma, would you mind if I join you?"

"Yes. I would."

"Could you please give me a moment. Just... two minutes. You can count them on your smartphone. Two minutes."

"Why would I give you even a second Tom?" Emma asked coldly.

"Give me two minutes and you'll find out."

She completely ignored him and continued staring out of the window.

"Please..." he sounded desperate, "Emma... Em..."

"Two minutes and not a second more," she finally allowed sounding defeated.

"Thank you," Tom quietly said with a nod.

"Ten seconds already passed."

He took a seat opposite of her, and started with a sigh, "I didn't know you were Athena Skotadi until you killed Melfoy. Don't interrupt me, please. I really didn't know you were that... important, powerful... take your pick. I just realized I have seen you before and I... I wanted to know more. There are only so many explanations for me seeing older you ages before and... younger_ you_ on my second first time to Hogwarts. I was even more curious when you got sorted into Slytherin even though you said you were mud... Muggle born. That's why I stood up for you even if it wasn't the... smartest thing to do in Slytherin.

Eventually, it just... became fun to hang around you. You are sweet, funny, _weird__,_" he gave a short chuckle here, and he saw the corners of her mouth pull up as well, "and... you are intelligent and smart. You also have an incredibly annoying_ habit_ of knowing things I didn't want you too... but you also trusted me. And... I think you kind of qualify as my only friend, in the generally accepted meaning of the word. You were pretty much the only person who was at my side without excepting or wanting something from me. It would really suck if I were to lose that.

Well, I guess my two minutes are up. So... would you give me a second chance? Or third... fifth... whatever the number is. I would really appreciate it if you did."

Emma finally faced him and with a bitter smile started clapping, "Brilliant. Wonderfully delivered. You are charming and flawless as always."

"Thank you."

"Marvelous. You hesitated at the right moment, left the most offending parts out, threw in a few compliments, tried to light up the conversation. If I didn't know you any better, I would've been deeply touched. How long did you practice this _amazing_ speech?"

"I only created a rough draft of how it should look in my head few nights ago. You know I am glib, I don't have to _practice_. I rarely ever have to think about what I am going to say next."

"True, true. You are glib. ... I should probably be honored that you have found it necessary to even think about it in advance. _Glib_... fluent and easy, often in an insincere or deceptive way... enough said," she said thoughtfully.

"_Often_," Tom pointed out, "I am not being insincere now. I do care about you Emma."

"See, _that's_ were you're wrong. You don't know what caring means Tom. You barely have a clue. Clue being the dictionary explanation."

"I... think I care."

"Another mistake. You can't _think_ you care. You either _do _care, or you don't. There is no _thinking_ involved."

"That's why I didn't practice the speech. Whatever I say to you, it can always back fire, if you are in a bad mood."

"I'll take that as a compliment."

"It was one."

"So you _think_ you care," Emma repeated shaking her head, "It's both intriguing and sad how little you actually know about emotions. You are so... logical, that nothing can reach you without going trough an extensive machine-like analyze. It's worth pitying in a way. Makes me wonder how is it that you are so capable of manipulating people, when you fail to understand the basics of feelings."

"I do understand feeling Emma," Tom said quietly.

"Yeah, the scientific explanation of them. But that's not useful knowledge when it comes to manipulating actual humans. Maybe you are cataloging causes and reactions. What could lead to what. Say this in that situation, don't say that in another... Hmm... with your ability to memorize, it could work. Guess I will never find out... but you wanted to say something, didn't you?"

"I would like to now if we could try to be friend again. ... I ... I would do anything you ask of me. Please, just, give me another chance. One little chance to fix all of this."

"Anything," Emma echoed after him, "anything... You'd do anything. And yet, moments before, you mentioned how I was your only real friend, because I never asked for anything. I wouldn't want to ruin that once-upon-a-time real friend image that I hold. If I did, you'd be left without ever knowing how much a real friends means. That would be tragic."

"Could you drop the sarcastic comments for a moment and be serious. I am really trying to make things right over here."

"I know," Emma said seriously, "I love watching you struggle. Give me two weeks, and I'll decide whether I will take you up on your '_anything I want_' offer or not."

"Sure. Two weeks sounds great. So... I'll be seeing you on the island?"

"You mean your crazy home. Guess so. Artemisa begged me to come and promised to help me avoid you while I'm there. Your mission is completed. Somewhat. You can leave now," Emma informed him somewhat unfriendly.

"Um, yeah. Bye then."

"Bye."

As the door closed behind him Tom silently cursed Emma to hell and back before walking back to his compartment, the girl in the compartment he just left smirked as she whispered to her little white cat, "That would be~ checkmate! Now I only need a spell to force him keep a promise."

* * *

"How did it go?" Fabius asked, Tom once the other had made himself comfortable in his seat.

"How do you think? She'll get over it, as always."

"You know, you still haven't told me exactly what Emma is getting over."

"And I won't be telling you. You'll just have to live with that."

"What did you promise her for a millionth chance?"

"Anything," Tom replayed shortly opening a book.

"Anything?"

"Yes. Anything. I need the information that her father has. I need the information Leonardo Skotadi has, I ...quite desperately... need the information that he has. And how better to get the information than using his precious daughter, Athena Skotadi. Besides, Emma won't ask for anything big. It just isn't her."

"Wait... Emma Rynolds, labeled mudblood of the Slytherin house, is actually Athena Skotadi, the heiress of one of the oldest wizard families?"

"How ironic is that?" Tom questioned.

"And you saying she hasn't already asked for something?"

"No. She is playing, trying to pretend she won't forgive me. But I already know that in two weeks time she is going to come with some silly demand, like tell her what I plan, promise to be a real friend, not lie to her, ask instead of manipulating... or something stupid like that. A promise I most definitively won't keep."

"She asked for two weeks?"

"Yes. That's what I said," Tom said in annoyance.

"You do know that this isn't Emma's normal 'everything forgiven and forgotten' style. If anything it has Tom Riddle printed all over it, huge letters. She is up to something, and she is copying you."

"Paranoid."

"Have you noticed this is a third or fourth time you are saying that to me, and each time you ended up freaking out later as well."

Tom closed his book with a sigh and rolling his eyes faced Fabius again, "Let me be frank with you. I knew what Emma was up to every moment of every day for the last five years. That's why I was calm no matter what she was up to, because I always knew what she was trying to do. I knew she would try to balance out our blood-bond. I needed her to do it. I told Adiy to send her the book she had been asking Artemisa for, because knowing about our blood-bond would make her think we are on equal footing and would make it easier for me to reestablish our friendship, since our _fight_ didn't give the resultes I anticipated. And every time I _freaked out_, it was a pretend freak out, because I needed your attention concentrated anywhere else but me. Emma was just the easiest target. You think highly of her... for a good reason... and you would focus all of your attention on trying to find out what's she up to. I was never really worried about anything Emma _planed_. She has the brains, but... she is not the crminl mind in making."

"You played me?"

"Don't be so surprised. Our friendship is based on benefits."

"But, you plaid me! Me! How?"

"You might have a great mind Fabius, which is why I enjoy your company, but I do have a dozen of years on you."

"Unbelievable. ... And what exactly didn't you want me to know?"

"If I didn't want you to know up until this very moment, why would you think I would just change my mind now?"

"So you won't tell me?"

"No."

"Not even a hint."

"Not even a hint. With some luck, you'll find out soon enough. I just need Salazar to drop dead already. I swear, he and Alkaios had been standing in my way forever. I was hoping that Emma's father would've taken them out by now. Especially after Alkaios had a private conversation with Emma. Oh, well... Leonardo Skotadi is the only man in this chaos who's motives I have yet to guess, he is keeping things interesting and mysterious if nothing else."

"You are really enjoying this aren't you?"

"You have no idea."

* * *

**Author's note:** Another chapter done. Only few more to go. _I am hoping to finish this story by the end of the year._ Only two or three chapters left to go. And I already have them planed out (the first time i have chapters planed out. I always had only the ending of the main plot and was working the rest out as I go, which is bad, don't ever write a story like that. It's really messed up.)

I am still deciding if I should reveal how I first wanted to end this story here or save it for the rewritten story with better developed characters where that ending would make more sense. I would feel bad if I didn't put at least a hint of that here.

**I should update by the end of September the next chapter.**

Till then,

Ciao, caio ^.^


	61. Intertwined aims

**61. Intertwined aims **

Tom was standing at the top of the big marble staircase, Kohar and Adiy on his left and right. He had just finished informing residents of the Court of the last death, and in the eyes of many inhabitants of the island, the most important death that had happened in the last years of war.

Alkaios Aleksandros had died two days ago on the battlefield taking Salazar Slytherin down with him.

He watched the heads bow in respect and deciding he had wasted enough time today, started climbing down the stairs, turning to one of the hallways and leaving twins to deal with the rest. He had a specific someone to hunt down in the maze of the Skotadi family. Someone who had just returned, someone who had done an irreparable performance in the last year.

The abounded underground mansion of the Skotadi family was as cold, dark and uninviting as ever. And among those shadows two people were hiding away from the rest of the castle. _"__Three,"_ Tom corrected himself noticing the tall dark figure which was leaning on the nearby wall. He needn't be told who that was, even if shadows were covering the man's face, there was only one person who's magic Tom couldn't feel even if he was less then a feet away.

"Leonardo Skotadi. I am surprised to see you here. Isn't it a bit early to take Emma home? She arrived only yesterday."

"I'll be taking Emma as well. But I actually came here to pay my respects to my old mentor. Alkaios, finally dead. Despite how hard one tries, life is still 100% fatal. May the old fool rest in peace."

"I had a feeling it would be you who took him out."

"Oh, you flatter me. I haven't done anything. He and Salazar took each other out."

"Did they now?" Tom questioned in wonder, "That's funny 'cause Alakios and Salazar had been at each others necks forever and neither was gaining an upper hand."

"So many things you have yet to learn," Leo said mockingly, "Don't you know that at this place, every truth is guarded with squadron of lies?"

"I have long ago figured that out. But I do know everything there is to know about Alkaios' and Salazar's relationship," Tom confidently informed him.

Leo's eyes started glittering in the dark as he said, "Convincing yourself doesn't win the argument. You know the surface of the story, because that was the only thing your eyes could see. You needed to dive in to find the truth. Not that this truth holds any importance now, it's as dead as its keepers."

"I highly doubt you just came here to chitchat with me, why not skip to the point. I have places to be."

"So impatient and rude. Just because your year of birth is further away, doesn't make you older. Show some respect."

"Why are you here?" Tom repeated.

But Leo just laugh and for a moment Tom thought he would start swirling around just for the hell of it, like his daughter did on daily basics. However, the man turned serious again moment later, "I am here to warn you and give you head start of course," he said in kind tones.

"Warn me? What are you warning me for? Last time I checked you hated this place. Besides, aren't you now fighting on the non-existing good side? Together with all the angles and good-doers?"

"I might be fighting on their side, but that hardly makes me one of them. My nature is still dark, you don't want to cross me. So, better rush to your finish line, because the next time you see me (after today), the goal would be well out of your reach," He said mysteriously, turning to walk down a corridor Tom was certain wasn't there before. He was wondering what the man meant with his last words, when Leo added over his shoulder, "Oh, and... One last thing, If you want to rule the world, best to try the inconspicuous approach. Farewell! Tom Marvolo _Riddle_."

With that he completely disappeared among the shadows and the corridor started disappearing with him as if it was only a misty illusion and was now clearing out. A breeze could be felt in the closed hallway for the briefest of moment until there were no traces left to prove that either Leo or that strange corridor were there only seconds before.

Tom stared at the solid wall for a moment longer, before he marched down the hallway to the dark magic library, set on ignoring this little encounter for the time being. Once in the library it didn't take him long to find the person he had been looking for.

"Stefan," Tom greeted him warmly, "It's good to see you again."

"It's good to be back. Month more in Slytherin's lair and I would've been dead for sure. He was suspicious of me."

"He was suspicious of everyone," Tom countered.

"How did you do it? Created the seal that Salazar wouldn't notice. Alkaios I understand, this part of magic isn't his strong point, you have way more fucking talent, and that is the only thing that counts when it comes to mind related magic. But Salazar Slytherin, he was bloody brilliant in the mind entering and searching thing."

"When someone almost destroys your mind, you figure out a way to protect it. Salazar almost killed me with his damn _talents _so I figured I should arm myself better against him. Ended up being useful in you case. ... Did you get it?"

"Yes, took me forever to find it, blasted thing. But... here you go. The book that explains all you need to know about living for centuries. Not that I understand why you would want such thing," Stefan said with noticeable disgust in his voice and handed the book over to Tom, who opened it right away and started reading.

"Hmm... you'll understand eventually. It's just going to be too late. I would naturally keep my end of the deal. You are free to remind in Court as a part of the dark inner circle without having to go tough the blood-bond process. Your room is still in the same place."

Stefan nodded and got up ready to return to his old room when Tom added in calm cold voice, not even lifting his head to face the young man, "Do keep in mind that if you ever so much as _think_ of betraying me, you better be dead before I find you, even if it means taking your own life. You can learn everything that lies between the covers of all the books in this library, and you still won't be capable of matching me. I hope you understand that."

"Yes."

"Perfect," Tom said closing the book in his hands and turning his back to Stefan, "I have to meet someone in about half an hour in the northwest drawing room, so why don't you follow me there and tell me all other interesting knowledge you came across while being away. I feel there is more staff you _wanted _to tell me."

"I... guess... there are some," Stefan said in a defeated voice, "Slytherin was interested in the big six of the magic world, or so he called them. Those were tribes or... clans, (families doesn't exactly describe them)... which were thought to have wielded one of the six elements each."

"Let me guess, one tribe was fire, other water... and so on. Six clans, six elements. Air, fire, water, earth, lightning... and dark magic," Tom listed.

"Yeah, funny thing about dark magic-" Stefan started but was cut by Tom.

"It's not the sixth element. I figured. All the books in the dark magic library, which I should probably start calling Skotadi library, had all five elements, only dark spells of the five elements, the only thing not connected to an element was summoning. And I am guessing it has something to do with the sixth element."

"Yeah, it does. The sixth element isn't an element at all. It's another dimension summons. You can say that all the creatures of mythology were based on real ones, if you could summon them. And you were right about number seven being the most powerful magical number. The seventh element, if one can call it that, is like... general magic or something. The kind of magic that wand-waving wizards mostly use. It's like pure energy without specific natural form."

"They do use elements as well," Tom stated.

"I am quoting Slytherin's founding and thoughts here. The point is, that unlike the majority of wizards, those tribes were capable of using one element on a greater scale. They could use others as well, but having a one that they were completely in-tune with since their birth, was what supposedly separated them. Personally, I think that's bullshit. Those were probably just more powerful than the rest and stole the knowledge of those same as them."

"Save your opinions for later, I only want the stuff you read now."

"It is certain that 'general' magic had the majority among the wizards. It is also certain that the six tribes had a somewhat different power to the rest since they were loved and feared like gods, probably because they were thought to know about the very nature and roots of the magic, and were therefore capable of using it on a whole new level. And it is likely that out of 6 tribes 3 had a natural dark magic, and 3 had the natural light magic. As for where they were coming from, Slytherin was trying to find who belonged where trough Muggle mythology, as well as wizard one, though mostly Muggle."

"Why was he so interested in finding all of this?" Tom questioned quietly. It was more of an aloud expressed wonder, then an actual question that required answer, but Stefan still answered it.

"From what I gathered, he was under the impression that they all left their knowledge behind in a special stone rooms. He was hopping that he could find each and every one of those rooms. If you had a chance to find out the very nature of magic, would you try? I know I would. Knowledge like that gives power on it's own. No spells necessary," Stefan said dryly.

"True... Go on."

"Well, he was under the impression that the rooms besides the knowledge hold their own magic and that would mean-"

"Skip that part. I know what it means. Where was he hoping to find the rooms?"

"It depended on where the tribe was from. He thought that one dark was from South and Central America, two light ones from Asia, and he thought the rest were from Europe and Africa, but he never investigated that part. Or at least I didn't found anything about it in his research."

"Do you know the names the tribes were known by?"

"If we were to talk about the time the rooms were created, no. Only the names later given to them during the domination of Latin and Greek. Light ones are known as Alexandros, Kleosnike and Ning-Shu. For the last one it is obvious they are from China, the only tribe that never moved from their original location, possible the only tribe still going under the original name. I think they are now under control of Kleosnike. Or still hidden, which in this war I doubt."

Tom's eyes narrowed at the last name, it was the only one he didn't recognize. Stefan, not taking notice of Tom's thoughtful expression continued talking and listing, "As for the three dark tribes, there are Amandus, Koskinizo and Skotadi. Besides Amandus I am not sure there are any living heirs of the last two."

Now all of those names Tom had heard. Koskinizo being the name he heard only recently from Emma's hunter and the name being used on him. Why, he had no idea. He knew that Salazar had no connection to them, it was a simple fact. But why the hunter thought Tom had was beyond his understanding.

They arrived in front of the huge wooden double-door of the northwest drawing room and Tom placed his palm on the surface about to push the door open.

"Anything else?" He asked.

"You would need someone with enviable knowledge in Mythology from all around the world to get anywhere in this research," Stefan warned him seriously.

"And I have just the right person in mind," Tom said smirking before he disappeared into the other room.

* * *

Kohar and Adiy were carefully listening to Tom's every word and casually lodging in big armchairs opposite of him.

"... So if Slythrin's research is to be trusted, there are six rooms in total with ancient knowledge about magic. We have one here, Diadalos Amandus definitively has one as well, and we can assume that Kleosnike have one as well, or two if Stefan is right about Ning-Shu being under their realm," Tom concluded.

"The room we have was created by either Skotadi or Alexandros, the second one of the two is missing, as well as the room created by Koskinizo. So... two rooms that could be problematic to find, and three that would be nearly impossible to enter," Kohar concluded.

"Who do you think the room on this island belongs to?" Adiy asked, "We could say Alexandros because they were the one ruling the place, but we know for a fact that only one living person knows its secrets, and _he_ is a Skotadi. Not to mention that Alkaios couldn't read a thing, and he was the last living Alexandtos as far as we all know."

"We can definitively clear Kleosnike and Ning-Shu as the two Asian light tribes. Ning-Shu is obviously Chinese. And the palace and court of the Kelonike are located in west Asia, thus the European influence of the name," Kohar noted, "Now, there are no important and old magical families left in America, especially not ones we could connect to our part of the magical world, so any of the dark ones could have come from there. But I think Amandus are from either Africa or Europe, judging by the location of Diadalos castle, which I am sure holds one of the rooms."

"Well, this newly obtained knowledge certainly explains the centuries old war," Adiy exclaimed in somewhat bored voice, "The rest of poor little wizards were all following their kings not knowing what they are fighting for, while the said kings, belonging to one of the magnificent six, were fighting about some stupid rooms in order to gain power. Isn't that beautiful?"

"War is always about power, Adiy," Tom said.

"This one is about power that lies in simple highly-coded information. They could have sheared. Lot less messy like that."

"Sure, why don't you go to Diadalos Amandus and Kleosnike brothers and ask them to just shear?" Tom asked sarcastically, "I am sure they would be most accommodating and agreeable."

"If it still was only about that, Kleasnike might have actually agreed," Kohar said seriously.

"Too bad we are already in too deep, isn't it?" Tom mocked.

"Back to serous topics. How are we going to proceed whit this thing? We already have our hands full with Alkaios gone and all," Adiy reminded them.

"I have it covered," Tom said nonchalantly, "A certain someone should hopefully speed up the decoding process of the stone room as well."

"Athena Skotadi?"

"Yes. And... Please. Stop. Calling her that. It's weird. I am used to Emma. ...Anyway, Emma is the best person for anything Muggle mythology and history related."

"If you are sure..."

"I am. Speaking of Emma, she should be here any minute now. You can stay to hear what she has to-"

"Hi Tom. Adiy, Kohar? I was under the impression we were to have a private chat," The cheery voice rung trough the room. The sound of carelessly slammed door was followed by quick steps as Emma took her sit on the sofa next to Tom.

_"And-! She is here! The exploding ball of sunshine!"_ Adiy proclaimed with a fake happiness to her sister through her mind. Kohar barely stopped the giggle. It's not that either of them dislike the girl, with Emma's carefree and naive way of acting that was nearly impossible. But the girl could be a bit... annoying, freaky and overwhelming.

Tom was already briefing Emma about the latest news and asking questions so twins quickly concentrated on what she was responding.

"... so it could be either. Although, Aztecs are more likely than Mayas, simply because they had more such rituals. Human sacrifice was popular among Incas and could be found among Zapotec civilization too. Besides, it's stupid to try and locate dark magic tribes using only the possible connection to human sacrifice. All old civilizations had some form of it. Therefore you couldn't be sure where any of the either light or dark tribes are from. For example you said that Asia had to lights, I say not necessarily. China had a lot of human sacrifices during the Shang and Zhou Dynasties."

"Yes, but not all of them could be connected to magical rituals," Tom said impatiently.

"Depends how you look at it. Burning slaves when you die could be connected to a magical ritual," Emma said.

"Let's for the sake of simplicity say that the only sacrifices that count are the one to some god and that do not include slaves," Kohar said.

Emma almost laughed at her suggestion, "All the sacrifices are connected to some god, that's why it is a part of mythology. And there are barely any that do not include slaves. Why kill your citizen, when you have prisoners and slaves for that? The lives that would be taken away in such religious rituals for them had the same meaning as lives of animals. You have to understand Kohar that many of the old civilizations had a..._ slightly_ barbaric system and organisation. I don't know how much history you studied here, but your understanding of the period you need for this research is lacking."

"But do you think you can do it?" Tom asked, "This should be right up your alley."

"Find a possible location for all six tribes? I don't know... I am not even certain if we could really connect religion of that time with wizards, or if even the time frame is correct," Emma admitted.

"So you will do it? I know you can. You are amazing when it comes to this."

"I... I can try," she admitted insecurely.

"Perfect! I love you," Tom said kissing her cheek and hugging her, which was way out of character. He normally just demanded things from people and never thanked them.

"You really want that information, don't you?" Emma remarked shaking her head.

He just smiled at her before turning to bluntly demand from Adiy and Kohar to get out. Once both girls were out, Tom waved around and cast a few spells to make sure everyone would keep out and that their conversation couldn't be overheard.

"Even though it is now obvious that I am forgiven, I feel there is something else you wanted to say, so spill it out."

"Well..." Emma started with an uncomfortable laugh, "I actually..." She took a deep breath trying to calm down, "My father explained to me the most important aspects that balance in power has on our blood bond... I now know how much it actually differs from what was written in the book, when only one side has the advantages. I know that, besides having to protect each other and not being able to rat each other out, or kill each other... we both have to be killed in 24 hours, so that we would actually die. And... God, this is so strange... I mean... You never seem to need any help. You are always the best, always perfect. And I love that about you. You are cool, calm, confident. You know well the game you are playing. I now understand fully why you created a one-sided blood-bond with all the rest of your _inner circle_, no-one can kill you while they live, and if someone is to kill them, their magical and life force, their years of life, it all transfers to you. ... I...I know that you don't need any help. I really do. But I want to be there for you. I want you to need me by your side. But... I no longer what to be that one _friend_ who you constantly use without giving anything in return. So, I'll be... selfish for a while. I'll take you on your word that you would give me anything if it meant I forgive you. And there is _something _that I ... desperately want. And since I won't be returning to Hogwarts next year... or ever again..."

Emma quieted down watching Tom's thoughtful face.

"Been practicing this speech, haven't you?" He finally asked.

"Little bit. Did I rush it? I think I did."

"No. It was good. I liked it. Some parts could be improved a bit, but most people would've bought it."

"So I am getting better?"

"Yeah, definitively."

It was quiet after that as they both stared through the big glass doors that lead to a balcony.

"What is that _anything_ that you want?" Tom ask distractedly.

"A spell. Sealing spell. The power goes both ways."

"What spell?"

"It creates-"

"What. Spell. Emma."

"Does it matter?"

"Yes."

"You not knowing the spell but agreeing to it is part of the deal."

"Do you really thing that I, with my understanding of magic, would agree to such thing?"

"It would be in your best interest."

"Do tell."

"For god's sake, it won't kill you Tom! It want even hurt you! I just want to make sure you'll grant me one damn simple wish! And in exchange I'll do the same."

"From your refusal to tell me about the _'simple'_ spell, I am guessing I would never agree with it, if I knew which spell you wanted to use."

"Than you are not forgiven, and I won't be helping you with anything. I might even start fighting against you. I can't hurt you directly, but there are always indirect ways."

It took another half an hour of arguing, begging and convincing before Tom finally agreed to go with whatever spell Emma had in mind. He had figured he would find a way out of it without too much trouble and that there could be no big harm in a simple sealing spell as long as he could get rid of it on a later date. He didn't recognize the spell Emma had been casting, until the seal appeared. The seal he recognized, even if he never found the spell to cast it himself.

Now, staring at the pentagram imprinted on the inside of his left hand, he was seriously regretting his decision to allow Emma to cast a spell he of all people didn't know. Harmless spell was the polar opposite of the thing he now saw on his hand. The seal was know as 'Devils seal' and it was terribly dark. There was nothing that could save you if you broke the promise. Not any blood-bond in the world, no philosopher's stone... hell, one could split his very soul and the curse would still successfully hunt him down and kill him. Slowly. Painfully. If one demanded of you to jump of the cliff as a part of the deal, it was better then waiting for the curse to hit you if case you didn't. For the life of him, Tom couldn't figure out how Emma got her hands on such a dark and dangerous spell. He never succeeded and he had tried.

"Where exactly did you find this spell?" Tom asked in empty voice.

"In a book," she said innocently.

"Which book?"

Emma ignored him watching her own pentagram happily, as if someone had just announced that from today on, Christmas was to be celebrated every day (gifts and all).

"Which book?" Tom repeated his question forcefully.

"The one you've been trying to decode for_ ages._"

"You can read the book in which your father translated the entire stone room."

"Aha."

"And you are only telling me this now because..."

"We are friends again," she answered cheerfully, before adding, "And stop trying to decode the book. You can't do it. He made sure only his close blood relatives can. Meaning only me."

Tom watched the curly-haired girl babble on feeling utterly annoyed and angry. Emma payed him no heed as she continued, "Let's make another deal. I'll hand you the book that would help you read the room cravings directly, if you right now make your demand to the Demon seal. And it would go like this, you want me to help you find the knowledge lying in the six rooms of the following families, and them you name the families or tribes... or whatever they are."

"And what would you demand from me?" Tom quietly asked.

"I'll keep that a secret for a while. And I learned to trap someone in my mind so don't even try to find the answer in there. Now, do you want the book or what?"

Two hours later Tom was standing out on the balcony the book in his hands and his eyes following Leo and his daughter as they left the gardens of the Court. He watched Emma turn and wave at him. Careless, childish and innocent. Some things about her just never changed, and he hoped they never would. Tom hoped that the next time he sees her, she would still have everything that makes her... her. Neither knew when they would see each other again.

Sure, they will stay in touch, Emma had a promise to keep. But staying in touch, and being close to each other were two different things. The last two years of Hogwarts were bond to be boring without her, even if Diadalos' unwelcome company would raise the tension in school. Maybe he could just quite Hogwarts as well? Shaking his head with a small smile, he waved back before returning to the drawing room again.

His eyes fell on the chess board and the unfinished game as her parting words clearly rung trough his head, _"For king to survive, he needs to skillfully manipulate all the other pieces. Beneath your throne, the bodies of your pieces will pile up together with your sins. You must not lose. If the king is taken, the game is over. If you so wish Tom, I'll follow you everywhere. I'll be the most powerful piece on your board. I'll be your queen. Even if your throne crumbles and your shiny crown turns to rust... even if the bodies pile up endlessly, beside you I will stand until I hear the words 'check mate'."  
_

"Really now," Tom said to himself laughing, "Those were interesting parting words for someone who can proud herself of holding power over me."

He once again looked at the pentagram on his hand. Emma had yet to make her demand, but had already forced him to make his the way she saw fit. And after a very long time, Tom was clueless about something. He couldn't even begin to guess what her one wish will be.

Outside Emma gave her father a disarming smile and he smiled back saying "How did it go?"

"Perfect," She said happily.

"You do know non of it would be real."

"I can always pretend it is," she told him unconcerned, "And I hope at some point, Tom would just get used to it and start enjoying it."

"I am glad you at leased listened to me and left it open for further consideration," he told her seriously, "you might change your mind."

His daughter only laughed a sunny smile playing on her lips as her eyes constantly changed color, moving between light and dark green as if a fire was set behind them and was playing around because of the strong wind.

"I am serious Emma. I only want what is best for you."

"I know that dad. And I am grateful to you and love you. But I know what I want. After all the lies... you owed it to me to let me make my own decision. You know my end game, and I know yours. I won't change my mind," she swirled around once more before sadly asking, "The next time I come here, this place would be long gone, will it not?"

"As you already said, you know my end game," her father said looking much older and tired, drained.

She turned to look at the Court once more, hoping to catch a glimpse of Tom's silhouette in one of the windows.

"Still... I will return once more."

The whisper of her words was still in the air when the last two of the Skotadi had disappeared. One planning to never step foot there again, and the other counting the years till her return.

* * *

**A/N:** Yes, I know I said no knew chapter till September, but I changed my mind. I want to finish this story and start rewriting it now that I have a beta and a clear idea of the development of all the characters.

Something that I went with as the story progressed.

Happy news: Only one more chapter to go!

Even happier news: I will post the last chapter before the end of September.

Three guesses on what Emma's wish is!

Well, that's all from me for now,

Till the next chapter,

Ciao, ciao ^.^


	62. Epilogue

**62. Epilogue: End of the war **

The silence was all consuming and eerie. It spread the feeling of something forbidden, something sinister and terrifying trough the air. There was nothing left there, not one living being, human or otherwise. Not even an insect. Noting but two lonely figures standing in the middle of the ruins, calmly, as if the grim scenery around them didn't affect them at all.

The man was looking around, his face divided from all emotions, but his dark green eyes were flashing now and than with some strange light. It might have been disappointment. Or anger. He hadn't even tried to look for the survivors among the fallen bodies and stones that barely resembled castles and fortresses that once stood there. He was just looking around the place, taking in the damage.

The woman, standing few steps behind him, hadn't spared a glance to look at her surroundings. She knew everything was destroyed. She knew nothing could have been saved, nothing living or death. It no longer mattered to her. She had eyes only for the man standing in front of her, observing him carefully, as if she was afraid of an explosion coming despite the calm and cold attitude her companion was showing.

"Tom," she called for his attention, her voice barely a whisper, and still, in the deathly silence, her voice rung loudly.

Tom Riddle didn't turn to face her. She knew he wouldn't, and yet, she didn't try to get his attention any other way but stayed where she was, carefully watching him.

He hadn't changed that much since the last time she saw him. He look older, yes. But not nearly as old as he should look. He had been fifteen, or was pretending to be, last time she saw him, and that was nearly twenty years ago. Than again, she didn't look her age either. But she did change, much more than he ever will. She had become stronger, more confident, more cunning and colder. Tom... he was everything that he was before. Powerful, logical, emotionless, manipulative, cold, selfish and calculating. It was as only months, and not years had passed since she last saw him. He was as charming and handsome as he used to be, and there was still something about him that dragged her closer, that fascinated her and mesmerized her. And that something was but out or her reach, as it have always been, since the very first moment she had met him. But it won't stay like that forever. She had made sure of that.

Smiling to herself, she stepped close and took his arm in hers with happy eyes that saw nothing of the destruction around her.

"Tom. We should be leaving. They will come for us. They will come hunting you."

He looked her way, his dark eyes hard and icy, "Let them. We can easily overpower them. Your father should have known that when he sent Aurors after us. There is nothing any of them can do."

"Let's not spill any more blood today. Please. My father, as you well know, had already killed thousands barely three hours ago."

The black-haired man didn't comment to that, he had nothing to say. But the hater at the mentioning of Leonardo Skotadi was evident in his eyes.

"I wish to see him... bury him," she continued, more to herself than to the person standing next to her.

"You don't even know where he is Emma. He could have preformed that spell from anywhere in the world," Tom told her, venom slipping into his voice. He would never be capable of expressing just how happy he was that the man was finally dead. Killed in (by) his final act.

Emma smiled sadly, "I know where he is. We should be capable of apparating there."

Tom started to say something but she didn't wait to hear it, apparating them both away instead. They appeared in a small cave, that couldn't be called spectacular by any standards. It was just plain deep hole in the huge stony hill. The exit was close enough, that Tom only needed to turn around and see the forest and a lonely small village beneath them. Facing Emma again, he noted that the girl, well woman actually (he had trouble seeing her that way) was already on her knees next to her dead father. There was a small grave next to them and Tom quickly put the pieces together.

Turning to look at the secluded village he said, "This was where you and your parents have been hiding all those years. That's your mother's grave isn't it?"

Emma didn't respond, chanting quietly instead and making the grave for her father next to the one already there.

"You knew," Tom accused, "You knew your father planed to gain enough power to destroy all six rooms and anything in their proximity. You knew he was going to destroy the island and all the other castles that had hidden rooms. How could you? I thought you were on my side Emma. Why didn't you tell me?"

She sighed before looking up at him, "Yes, I knew my father planed to destroy what was left of the wandless wizards together with the knowledge and power lying in six rooms of the most powerful tribes. I was well aware that he had been building up power for that one goal for ages now, even though it was going to kill him, and mom since a specific human sacrifice was needed."

"And you let all those people die?" Tom questioned in disbelief, "_You_?"

He couldn't care less about the wizards and witches who lost their lives, but it was shocking to reveal that Emma didn't care either. He still couldn't wrap his mind around all the changes that seemed to have occurred in the last twenty years. They were in touch, yes. But one couldn't understand the transformation Emma had went through by only reading her letters.

"They were faceless and nameless people to me, Tom," she admitted, "those I cared about were already long dead, thanks to you. You sent Fabius to his death five years after I left. You gave up Artemisa's life for useless information. I could go on, but you get the picture. You were the only person I knew and cared about, who was still a part of that world, and I made sure to get you away. There was nothing else in that world that I needed to save. The war ended. I find that a good thing. Even if my father's means were... drastic."

"How did you even convince your father to let me live? He didn't like me any more than I liked him."

"He needed more power and was running out of time with both you and Diadalos closing in on all six rooms. I gave him three quarters of my power and helped him place the destruction seals where needed," she smiled with a bitter smile, "it's ironic really. I moved away and made you promise me that the only thing I would help you with is gaining knowledge, so that I could avoid ever being in a position to kill for you, and yet... I am partly responsible for killing countless in order to make my father spare you."

"How did you menage to escape the 'devils seal'? Tom asked watching his hand where the pentagram, identical to the one on Emma's hand, was marking his skin.

"I didn't."

"You do know this means your death. The rooms are gone now."

Emma giggled, "For someone who prides himself of being cunning and calculating, you sure can be dimwitted at times Tom. Or is it that you still believe I am incapable of outsmarting you?"

"The second I guess."

Emma raised her own hand and looked at the pentagram closely, "Do you remember what I promised you?"

"Yes. And I am still waiting for what I will have to promise you."

Emma ignored the last part of what he said and continued, "Have I failed you so far?"

"Not that I know of. No."

"I have so far helped you find and decode five out of six rooms. Mostly because my father already knew the location of all six, it wasn't hard. And there is only one more room left."

"Room which is now destroyed."

"True. The power of the room is gone. But the knowledge and the location are still the same. And that is exactly what I have promised you. Not the power," she said calmly. Emma produced a book out of nothing, or more likely called for it, and handed it to him saying, "I have written in there translation of the entire room as well as it's location. I have fulfilled my promise."

The seal on her hand started glowing and broke apart leaving only a simple star with six ends behind. The same star was the only thing that disappeared on Tom's hand.

"I think I am going to hold that one promise, you'll soon owe me, over your head for a little bit longer," she said slowly getting up, "Let's head to the village and lay low for now. I have already prepared few fake identities for us there. We will have to hid among Muggles for a while."

Tom said nothing, staring at the book in his hands instead.

"You can't be that upset about all of this, Tom. In a way you got what you wanted. You hold more knowledge and power then any other living person on this world, me excluded, since in a few years I'll be your equal. And, thanks to your blood-bond with now dead inner circle, you have centuries in front of you. You are going to live for God know how long. Stuck with me, but I can't be that bad of a company. Diadalos might have escaped, but he is the only one. We'll hunt him down. Cheer up. You have almost forever to do what you want."

Tom ignored her, still staring at the same spot his face unreadable. Emma sighed next to him.

"You know, it looks like no matter what you achieve, you are never satisfied. You've reached your goals. Put a happy face on."

"You never knew my goals Emma, you were always only guessing them," Tom said quietly.

"Please do enlighten me," her annoyed response was met with silence, "Sometimes I feel like _you_ don't know what your goals are."

She watched Tom as he tried to convince her that he knew exactly what he wanted, but she could see it all in his eyes. The lost look. The need to strive for something, anything. The need to succeed. The draining boredom. The desperate need of his ingenious mind for a challenge. It didn't matter what it was, as long as he could prove himself, as long as it kept him occupied.

He needed people to control and manipulate, not only because of power (although it was high up there on a short list of the things he wanted) but also to keep himself entertained. To stay away from constant apathy, he needed his power games. He needed to control, to be sure that he had influence, to know that he mattered.

She used to think that his intellect and maturity were something unreachable for her. That was how she used to see him, as someone so superior in brains and ability, that he might have been from another world to her. But now, when she was no longer an ignorant child, she saw something else. She would still never be on his level in so many things, but he was no longer an indestructible magnificent being from another dimension either.

Now, she was capable of seeing the broken boy behind the mask of strong, intelligent psychopath. She might never be able to see empathy behind those mesmerizing eyes because he judt didn't feel it, but she could see fears and past that wouldn't let go.

Knowing that it won't mean anything to him, that it wouldn't reassure him, she still hugged him tightly wanting him to know that she was there, that she always had been and forever will be. Letting go she started dragging him out before turning to face him, "The one thing that I want from you, the one thing that I will use the 'devils seal' for, is either going to be my best idea ever, and would give you the chance to develop the pieces that you are missing, or it is going to destroy us both. I hope for the first."

"That doesn't give me any hints, Emma," he told her tiredly.

She smiled, "That's only because your childhood is non-existing."

"Chilhood?" Tom echoed after her, appall evident on his face, "You can't possibly want to-"

But Emma was already too far away to hear him, well on her way to the village. Shaking his head in disbelief, he quickly followed her leaving disturbing thoughts of what she meant by that behind. But as Tom finally caught up with her, he couldn't help but smile. Even if that insane idea that crossed his mind moments before was really what she wanted, he couldn't help but feel excited on the prospect of it, simply because even the most boring things seem to have huge importance in her world.

_"But really... this one! I would've never guessed."_

Then again, who knew what was best way to spent centuries? Tom certainly didn't. So why not try this her way? A hundred years to trow away wasn't much compared to the time they still have, and the closest thing he had to_ that_ before was... interesting in a way.

He couldn't help but laugh, and Emma looked at him smiling, "I am glad you find my idea so amusing."

"How could I not? Of all the tings you could ask of me, you are going to ask for something so... simple."

"It's hardly simple, and it's important."

"Important..." Tom whispered after her, still smiling.

She was literally going to force him into having a normal life. A family.

"I guess you'll just have to wait and see," she told him.

"I guess I will... But to use magic to get something like that... You could have used a love potion, you know? Devil seal is a bit too much," Tom said obviously entertained.

"All is fair in love and war. You would've slipped trough my fingers any other way. You can't get away like this."

True. There was no way for him to escape it. He really was going to have to try to be a father, even though he could clearly envision himself falling at the task. Tom had known something crazy was going to come from her idea, it was _she_ who came up with it, it couldn't have been sane. He had admitted defeat before the game had ended. But this? This was beyond anything he could have thought about. It was absurd. He could repeat it million times and that fact won't change.

But as Latin's saying goes 'Mutare quod non possis, ut natum est, feras'. And since there really wasn't anything he could do, he might as well try to figure out a way to enjoy it (if that was even possible!).

A family... a chance to see what he had missed as a child...

Unfamiliar, but not unpleasant, tingling rushed through his body at the thought.

Emma interrupted his train of thoughts with a stern voice, "And let's make something clear. Do NOT even think about manipulating any kids we'll have into becoming your little minions because I will make you regret it."

"Emma darling, I would _never_ do such a terrible deed," he said in a mock offence.

She just rolled her eye to his theatrics. It didn't seriously worry her that he would. In a way he got what he wanted, in a way she will get what she wants. The way they achieved their ends was unimportant, even if they had used each other for it. Reaching your goal was what is the most important, the ways to get to it aren't. As for everything else...

Live for the now, because the then is gone, and the will be might not. It was a simple enough rule for even Slytherins to follow.

**END**

* * *

**A/N:** I would kindly ask you all to leave a (useful) critical review now that the story is finished.

It would mean a lot to me if you could all just tell me what you think, what should I improve, what you liked, what you didn't like, so that I can try and improve.

I finally found a beta who will help me rewrite the story (or more like write a completely new one, taking this one as a draft).

I am really grateful to all of you who stayed with me till the end (since this was my first story ever), and your support really meant a lot to me.

If there are any questions that you feel I didn't answer in the story, but should have, please ask me.

That's all for now,

Till next chapter (scratch that!)

_Till the next story,_

NovemberRiddle ^.^


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